The Yellow Jackets (19-3) will take on Baltimore's City College (22-2) at 6 p.m. today for the Class 2A state championship. City College, the defending Class 2A state champion, had a similarly easy time against Easton in the other state semifinal Friday, cruising to a 64-38 win behind 21 points from Nick Faust.

The Yellow Jackets played City College last year in the first game of the season. The game was tied in the fourth quarter before the Knights used a 15-0 run to win, 54-36.

"It will be a great challenge for us, but I think we are up to it," said Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick. "We have had a rugged season and we had some tough games in Prince George's County. I definitely know our kids aren't going to be scared and it should be a heck of a game."

Gwynn Park did not hesitate to set up its half of the championship game picture.

North Carroll turned the ball over on its first possession and it was all downhill from there for the Panthers. Gwynn Park's Brandon Ford hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Yellow Jackets built a 19-10 lead. They pushed the advantage into double digits at the start of the second quarter on a basket by Tion Barnes. With an 8-0 run a few minutes later, Gwynn Park pushed the lead to 29-12, and the outcome was never in doubt after that.

"Not a lot of people think of us as a 3-point shooting team, so it was very important to hit some early shots," Ford said. "It was real big to knock them down because [North Carroll] started shading over toward me and forgot about the rest of the guys."

The Yellow Jackets were especially dominating on the boards as they held a 47-25 edge in rebounding, including a 14-2 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half.

North Carroll coach Chris Vaughn said Gwynn Park's athleticism was the main difference in the outcome of the game.

"They just absolutely killed us on the boards," Vaughn said. "We came out in a zone and that didn't work because Brandon Ford hit those early 3-pointers."

Mike Hemsley led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points, while Ford added 15 points. Barnes scored 12 and pulled down nine rebounds, while Brian Blue scored five points and dished out seven assists.

This season marks the 20th time Gwynn Park has played in the state semifinals. The Brandywine school won 10 state championships between 1968 and 1988. Gwynn Park has lost in the state title game six times, including four times since 1999. In their most recent trip to the state final four, the Yellow Jackets lost to eventual state champion Winters Mill in the 2008 2A semifinals. Their last state title game appearance was in 2004, when they lost the 3A final to Baltimore's Douglass High, 66-65.