Band_dad_of_2

I think that sounds about right, too....the Richland/Duncanville/KC/Prosper/PE/TC group will be a dogfight.

Of course! All of this is speculation...before Hebron was "Hebron!!!", they were a band on the rise. And then...BOOM! Band directors move around...bands have big senior classes that graduate....bands change show writers. As the old saying goes, "that's why they play the games". Area B is going to be well worth the price of admission.

If you're going to do that, you may as well move Richland there, too. For the last 2 years, Haltom and Richland have been very close competitively....completely different styles (Haltom-music over marching; Richland-marching over music) but very close in contest finishes. As I've said in other posts, Haltom is poised to make that next step from really good to great...they've been building for years now and last year was a massive step. If they build again, yes, you can put them in the "lock" category but their "greatness" needs to be sustained for a couple of years before they're a "lock", in my opinion...and, yes, I think they will take that next step this year. This is a big year for Richland...they've tasted a large amount of success as a 5A band over the last couple of years and have now, unexpectedly, been thrown back in to 6A. They're one of the smallest 6A schools/bands in the state and have to now go compete against Marcus, Hebron, etc. Now...that's definitely not an excuse (for lack of a better word). They've been 6A before and had a tremendous amount of success....and the directors will have them ready for this challenge.

It depends on the number, of course, but it depends on how many advance....if 6 I would place Richland and/or Duncanville in the "near lock". And placement of Haltom as a "near lock" is contingent on them building on last season...I suspect they will. Waxahachie is a "near lock" to me...they were great in 5A State last year beat Richland by 3 points in the finals (30-27) but Richland's finals run was not as solid as prelims...but Prosper was right on the heels of Richland. Part of the problem with basing any prediction for those bands moving up on 5A State last year is finals were affected by rain....the bands had to get out of their routines, didn't get as much warm-up time, etc. Even with that the difference between 3rd thru 8th place was only 5 points. Who knows what would have happened if the weather was decent....would Prosper have beaten Richland....would Richland have beaten Waxahachie? I have no idea.... If only 5 advance.....holy cats.....those finals will be insane to watch. "They're locks until they aren't" Keller Bell "Near locks" Waxahachie Haltom "Emerging from the bloodbath for the 5th spot" Richland/Duncanville/Prosper or Duncanville/Richland/Prosper (I can't choose!!!)

Want to break it down further? If you assume a 50/50 split in time of possession and that the players are only playing offense or defense, that means the average full-time player only sees 5.5 minutes of action time in a given game. And I didn't even include special teams which would water it down even more...... So if you want to look at it from a time standpoint, the marching band actually has more "action time" than football players. But who's counting, huh?

It is absolutely a sport...in fact, if you look at the actual "action time", football and marching band are not that far apart. On average, there is a total of 11 minutes of game action in a NFL game.

Don't sleep on Prosper....they had a really solid year and were right on Richland's heels at 5A state last year. Area B is going to be incredible!!

Richland went to that Super Regional a few years ago. They didn't do very well but that was during a couple of "down years"....they should fare much better this year.

2016 is hardly a recency bias but, ok..... In 2017, they competed in two contests Haltom and Richland finished 1st and 3rd (Mansfield) and 1st and 2nd (Broken Arrow)....results don't lie. Things were much closer than you recall. No doubt that Haltom took big steps last year...they were fantastic. They were also completely different shows...there's no way to quantify your assertion that Richland wouldn't have finished anywhere near Haltom. Both are trending up...we'll have to see what happens in 2018. Things change year-to-year....looking forward to it and hope both make it to State!!

In 2017, Richland was right on Haltom's heels all season......in 2016, Haltom was right on Richland's heels all season. "Not Haltom good"? I don't know, my friend...looks like they're pretty even, to me.

This was taken from the UIL site.... http://www.uiltexas.org/music/marching-band/marching-band-scoring-and-advancement-procedure I count 37 bands in Area B....if 30 advance to Area, that means 6 will advance to State, correct? Am I reading that incorrectly?

It is my understanding that areas will not change. As for Prosper, they are in Region 24 so they would be in Area B.

I thing you may be misunderstanding what I'm saying about Haltom....this was a serious break-out season for them. Yes, they've always been a consistently good band but this year they took that next step....they went from an 8th place finish in St Louis in 2016 to medaling in 2017 in Atlanta. There's a big difference from being a "middle-of-the-pack" finalist in a super regional (10 points out of first) to medaling in a super regional (3 points out of 1st behind only Wando and Tarpon Springs).

Yeah....I don't disagree with Cityscapes completely about Bell. Bell hasn't....quite....been Bell lately. That being said, they're a lock until they're not. Also, I believe Prosper is moving up to 6A....Prosper was great this year and finished 7th in 5A state. Haltom was fantastic but this was their first year to really break out and set themselves apart...next year will go a long way to see if that success is sustained or a one-time fluke. Personally, I don't think it was a fluke. Haltom is primed for some long-term success. The interesting thing about Area B is how many bands will make it to State. I count 36 bands in Area B...if 35 attend, that will be 7 bands. In my scenario, that's 7 bands (after Keller and Bell) competing for the final 5 spots...less than 35, and some fantastic bands will miss out. My opinion....top bands in Area B. Locks LD Bell Keller Great but not quite locks Haltom Waxahachie Richland Coppell Prosper (if 6A) Keller Central Duncanville My way, way, way, waaaaay too early prediction!! Bell Keller Waxahachie Haltom Richland

Richland back in 6A by 17 students....that was not expected.

Top 10....here's a link to get the full list. https://www.tmea.org/divisions-regions/band/honor-band/history 2018 5A Honor Band 1 Richard Armstrong Waxahachie HS Waxahachie ISD 2018 5A 2 Jason Bird Richland HS Birdville ISD 2018 5A 3 Andy Rein Centennial HS Frisco ISD 2018 5A 4 Reagan Brumley Highland Park HS Highland Park (Dallas) ISD 2018 5A 5 Andrew Easton Tomball Memorial HS Tomball ISD 2018 5A 6 Steve Wessels Cedar Park HS Leander ISD 2018 5A 7 Dena Laurel Roma HS Roma ISD 2018 5A 8 Carol Nelson McCallum HS Austin ISD 2018 5A 9 Kevin Knight Crosby HS Crosby ISD 2018 5A 10 Cody Newman Poteet HS Mesquite ISD

HAHA!! No need to do that....it's not like these are official!! I was just curious....

Decent list but how to account for leaving Waxahachie, Haltom and Richland out of this list? Waxahachie and Richland just beat Prosper at State. And after the year Haltom had, they deserve to be at least #6....maybe higher than Bell. In fact, yeah, they should be higher than Bell.

From the 5A State live feed... :lol:

This wins the internet today!!

We had a similar experience....a lot of our "rival" school's band members showed up at our send-off performance. I love having kids in band!!

Not gruesome but my kid played bass 3 her freshman year....she pulled a muscle in her leg. She had to march finals at BOA San Antonio with that pulled muscle...percussion uses the side-step a lot so it was incredibly painful for her. In fact, there was one point in the show where most of the band got on the ground and was supposed to look like they were suffering...the BOA photographer got a pic of my daughter at that exact moment....she wasn't acting. I can still see the picture in my head and it still puts a lump in my throat thinking about it. She...never....missed...a step through the show. I was as proud of her then as I've ever been. I saw her after the show and she literally collapsed in tears on one of the grass medians.

Oh, nooooo....I hope that's not correct.

I don't think there's any questions that Cedar Park is the favorite....this is a very strong competition, though, and I suspect all of the bands with a shot of overtaking them are peaking, too. Still, CP is incredible and their showing at BOA SA says a lot. Looking forward to it!!

My wife was in the stands at a contest this year while I was volunteering with the band....she was wearing our school's shirt. She overheard a parent in the row behind her making negative comments about our school...intentionally loud enough for my wife to hear. Fortunately, my wife is a very patient and forgiving person and managed to let it flow off of her. If I'd been there, things would have been a little different. Nothing mean...I promise....but this person would have known my displeasure. In an unrelated topic....we finished 2nd....their band didn't make finals. And, for the love of things great and small.....the people who talk during performances!!! I know the band is loud...I get it....but that doesn't mean you have to pick up the volume of your conversation. I yield the floor....thank you for letting me vent!!!