Falconers Championship

It was fitting Friendly seniors Sam Young and Chris Howard shared MVP honors following the Patriots' 73-36 victory over Fairmont Heights in the Falconers League championship game last night. Few in the Riverdale Baptist High gym -- including Young and Howard -- were able to choose who was the best player on the floor.

Young, an All-Met forward, scored a game-high 22 points -- highlighted by five dunks that drew rave reviews from the crowd in Upper Marlboro. Howard, a point guard, added 21 points -- eight via slam dunks -- to go along with eight assists as the Patriots won the summer league title for the second straight year.

"I'd go with Chris for MVP because he's the best point guard in the area," Young said. "If there is anyone better, I haven't seen him."

"Sam deserves to be MVP," Howard said. "Did you see what he did out there?"

Though Young did plenty of things on the court beside score -- he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots -- it was his one-handed, alley-oop dunk from a pass from senior guard Lloyd Phillips in the fourth quarter that left a lasting impression -- especially for Howard.

"Sam and I have a running bet all summer on who does the best dunk," Howard said. "And let's just say that I'm not winning anymore after that one."

Friendly's dominating performance against Fairmont Heights enabled the Patriots to finish the league 8-0, and more importantly made sure the team resumed this summer where it left off this past spring, when it won the Maryland 3A title.

Friendly, which has been reclassified as a 2A school for the next two seasons, did not lose a game on the court last season -- the Patriots finished 25-1 and their only loss occurred when they had to forfeit a game for holding an illegal scrimmage last December.

"We want to make a statement this summer that we are the best team no matter who we play, and we are the team to beat," Howard said. "This was a championship game, and we're not going to lose when championships are on the line."

Howard and Young are the Patriots' only retuning starters.

Phillips added 16 points and five assists for the Patriots, and Fairmont Heights (8-2) was led by senior forward Keith Edmonds, who scored 13 points.

The outcome was never in doubt after the first quarter, which was surprising considering Friendly posted a 59-58 victory over Fairmont Heights last month in league play. Friendly outscored Fairmont Heights 18-5 in the second period to take a commanding 36-21 lead at intermission and stretched the lead to 48-27 entering the fourth.

"Friendly was just a better team than we are right now," Fairmont Heights Coach George Wake said. "I don't think there's anything else you can say."