bingogooberman

seems more indicative that Marcus has polished their show significantly since BOA. Hebron will likely still top them at SA but this could signal that Marcus will be competitive for top 5 there and perhaps higher at nationals.

can't say i get the tarpon hate, that was pretty stellar

Only 7 in finals is a bummer- lots of solid, evenly matched programs will be duking it out for those last few spots

Would imagine Lafayette, LA wins this one- though they aren't quite what they used to be so I suppose they may have some challengers

Wild guess based more off what I know about certain bands results/ buzz rather than having actually seen them (most of which I have not)- but.... 1. Tarpon Springs HS, FL 2. Wando HS, SC 3. Cedar Ridge HS, TX 4. Park Vista HS, FL 5. Haltom HS, TX 6. Fort Mill HS, SC 7. Walton HS, GA 8. James F. Byrnes HS, SC 9. Kennesaw Mountain HS, GA 10. Green Hope HS, NC 11. Coweta HS, OK 12. Lafayette HS, LA SPOILER: Mill Creek HS, GA

They're pretty good about posting recaps, I'd expect them to pop up on Newman smiths site sometime in the next few days

pretty surprised to see The Colony so high, last I hard they were experiencing a bit of a slump. Great news for them. And Prosper! What a promising showing for them.

Is Mansfield back?? They were one of my favorite programs when I was in school and they were a regular presence in boa finals

Carmel has a really gorgeous, compelling show that could be dangerous at Nats (they just topped avon in prelims at dayton)- though, tbh, they sounded a little rough compared to Avon and certainly compared to FloMo and The Woodlands. Avon has a much more challenging program and are playing better than Carmel, but the visuals are still pretty dirty in the more challenging spots and they aren't quite as nuanced and captivating as Carmel in terms of design.

That's the thing about these Houston bands- they seem so evenly matched and beat each other all the time, it's impossible to predict

I don't think clements has ever attended SA, or at least they haven't in quite some time. In general they don't compete in BOA very often but were Atlanta super regional finalists in 2015- if they were to go to nats they'd be pretty much locked into semi finals, depending on the depth of field and how strong a year they were having finals could be a possibility but I wouldn't call it "easy"

poteet's going again this year- alongside blue springs, owasso, bixby, jenks, bentonville, grain valley, and as I've already mentioned, bell. Should be fun to see how they stack up (my gut says 8th after all the above groups- though I suppose Kickapoo might have something to say about that) Wish poteet did boa, particularly back in their hey day when they were racking up state championships- I'm sure they would have been perennial arlington finalists and could have even popped up in SA a few times. But it's great to see them committing to this contest and rubric

Agreed- these are great competitions for burgeoning dallas area bands (and I suppose others if they're willing to make the trek) to compete in a national context with great bands on a BOA rubric, giving them a chance to flourish and grow in a way that competing at your local stacked boa regional and not making finals might not- and is just a sgreat for more established programs as well

Definitely not my intent at all!! I just mean of the three major Oklahoma invitationals (owasso,BA, and union) this one draws fewer of the traditional BOA powerhouses than the others- no slight against the bands attending this competition as the scene in Oklahoma/Arkansas/Missouri continues to get more and more impressive and with some stellar dallas programs attending- all 3 of them are on par with a full-fledged boa regional

Yeah those Oklahoma invitationals are something else and this one is the least competitive by quite a stretch- LD Bell is going to Union's this year

Didn't prosper have this on their schedule at one point?

Just noticing waxahachie was 6th in prelims which is awfully impressive for them (I'm sure vistas early time has something to do with this but still)- they've really blossomed into a top notch program these last 10 years, could absolutely see them medaling at state

was able to catch pioneer at boa McAllen but not Roma, but judging from how strong pioneer was and the fact that Roma beat them pretty comfortably in both prelims and finals, any chance of them both slipping into finals here?

Thrilled for Hebron, they're my top choice to take SA right now

Flower mound is firing on all cylinders and I could definitely see them winning nats but at this point, tbh, I prefer Hebron- judges likely won't agree with me

Can't say I agree with bell over Keller and Marcus but congrats to them!

wow that was a next level performance from hebron

Hoping Lopez can make a splash here- haven't seen their show but the reigning TMEA 6A Honor Band ought to have a great marching program, don't you think?

Westwood isn't going

lol if we were going off prelims scores i'd be killing it in the predicitions- congrats to Johnson, well deserved! bingogooberman Place 1 Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S. TX Place 2 Leander H.S. TX Place 3 Vandegrift H.S. TX Place 4 Round Rock H.S. TX Place 5 Cedar Park H.S. TX Place 6 James Bowie H.S. TX Place 7 Vista Ridge H.S. TX Place 8 Winston Churchill H.S. TX Place 9 Hendrickson H.S. TX Place 10 Cedar Ridge H.S. TX Music caption Vandegrift H.S. TX GE caption Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S. TX Visual caption Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S. TX