2025 BOA San Antonio Super Regional (Nov. 7 & 8)

[bchorn]

Always like to compare how schools who advanced to state from other areas stack up against Area D schools. 

Four Area D schools qualified for BOA finals...so only a handful of bands in other areas would have been able to qualify for state if they were in Area D.

Area D schools bolded

Schools that advanced to state underlined

Reagan: 6th
Cedar Ridge: 9th
Dripping Springs: 12th
M&G: 13th
Westlake: 16th
Bowie:17th
CTJ: 19th
Round Rock: 21st
Dawson: 24th
Timber Creek: 28th
College Park: 30th
Cinco Ranch: 31st
Westwood: 32nd
McNeil: 33rd
Cypress Woods: 35th
Churchill: 40th
Lake Travis 42nd

 

 

[AshTru9]

32 minutes ago, bchorn said:

Always like to compare how schools who advanced to state from other areas stack up against Area D schools. 

Four Area D schools qualified for BOA finals...so only a handful of bands in other areas would have been able to qualify for state if they were in Area D.

Area D schools bolded

Schools that advanced to state underlined

Reagan: 6th
Cedar Ridge: 9th
Dripping Springs: 12th
M&G: 13th
Westlake: 16th
Bowie:17th
CTJ: 19th
Round Rock: 21st
Dawson: 24th
Timber Creek: 28th
College Park: 30th
Cinco Ranch: 31st
Westwood: 32nd
McNeil: 33rd
Cypress Woods: 35th
Churchill: 40th
Lake Travis 42nd

 

 

Super fascinating and is another solid argument in persuading UIL to do…something, anything…different. The opposition’s argument is the difference in judging between UIL & BOA, but that’s another aspect I strongly believe could use some tweaking. Under no circumstances should 1 judge hold so much power in anything so heavily subjective, but that’s a topic for another time. 
I hate to use Lake Travis as an example, because theirs was my personal fav show this season, but when you look at their show/scores for this season compared to a school like Bowie’s…and then notice which one advanced to state…yeah, it’s interesting. 

[Tubalord11]

Good morning everyone! First off, congratulations to Hebron and Flomo on tying for first!! Crazy stuff right there. Next to Pearland on top 5, HELLO?!?! Am I surprised, not at all. I was actually quite happy, like that’s kinda insane for them. And then to Keller, MG Johnson and Bridgeland for making finals after not at state!! Super great ways for them to end their season. And Dripping Springs making finals for i believe the first time. Just a really historic night for this comp. I’m almost 100% sure now we will have five finalists at GNs, though id love if RR or SLC made it as well. Congratulations to everyone who competed yesterday, looked like a great contest as always! 

[hsbandnerd212]

For you nerds like me out there, here's the full prelims rankings and scores:

1 - 96.275 - Flower Mound (Panel 1)
2 - 96.250 - Hebron (Panel 2)
3 - 95.225 - Vandegrift (Panel 2)
4 - 93.525 - The Woodlands (Panel 1)
5 - 93.350 - Rouse (Panel 1)
6 - 92.600 - Ronald Reagan (Panel 2)
7 - 92.575 - Pearland (Panel 2)
8 - 92.400 - Keller (Panel 1)
9 - 92.125 - Vista Ridge** (Panel 2)
9 - 92.125 - Cedar Ridge** (Panel 1)
11 - 91.700 - Cedar Park (Panel 2)
12 - 91.150 - Dripping Springs (Panel 1)
13 - 90.800 - Moe & Gene Johnson (Panel 1)
14 - 90.450 - Bridgeland (Panel 2)

———Finals Cutoff———

15 - 90.375 - Wakeland (Panel 1)
16 - 89.600 - Westlake (Panel 2)
17 - 89.300 - James Bowie (Panel 2)
18 - 89.000 - Seven Lakes (Panel 2)
19 - 88.825 - Claudia Taylor Johnson (Panel 1)
20 - 88.650 - Leander^1 (Panel 1)
21 - 88.350 - Round Rock (Panel 1)
22 - 87.750 - Wylie East (Panel 1)
23 - 86.925 - Cy-Fair (Panel 2)
24 - 86.475 - Dawson^2 (Panel 2)
25 - 86.450 - Argyle* (Panel 1)
26 - 86.450 - Wylie* (Panel 1)
27 - 86.425 - Aledo (Panel 1)
28 - 86.325 - Timber Creek (Panel 1)
29 - 85.425 - Midlothian (Panel 1)
30 - 84.975 - College Park (Panel 1)
31 - 84.875 - Cinco Ranch^3 (Panel 1)
32 - 84.750 - Westwood (Panel 2)
33 - 84.450 - McNeil (Panel 2)
34 - 84.325 - Grand Oaks (Panel 1)
35 - 83.925 - Cypress Woods (Panel 2)
36 - 83.350 - Braswell (Panel 2)
37 - 83.050 - Liberty Hill^1 (Panel 1)
38 - 82.850 - United (Panel 1)
39 - 82.575 - Keller Central (Panel 2)
40 - 82.500 - Winston Churchill (Panel 1)
41 - 82.300 - Friendswood (Panel 2)
42 - 82.000 - Lake Travis (Panel 2)
43 - 81.750 - McCallum (Panel 2)
44 - 81.700 - Roma (Panel 1)
45 - 81.125 - McKinney (Panel 2)
46 - 81.100 - Weiss (Panel 1)
47 - 80.600 - John B. Alexander (Panel 1)
48 - 80.025 - A&M Consolidated (Panel 1)
49 - 79.200 - Pflugerville^1 (Panel 2)
50 - 79.150 - Glenn (Panel 2)
51 - 78.400 - Brazoswood (Panel 1)
52 - 78.300 - Shadow Creek (Panel 1)
53 - 77.475 - Pieper (Panel 2)
54 - 76.750 - Austin (Panel 2)
55 - 75.800 - Jourdanton (Panel 1)
56 - 74.750 - San Antonio Veterans Memorial (Panel 1)
57 - 74.450 - Conroe**^1 (Panel 2)
57 - 74.450 - Long Creek** (Panel 2)
59 - 74.425 - Pioneer (Panel 1)
60 - 74.400 - Sharyland (Panel 2)
61 - 74.125 - Waller (Panel 2)
62 - 73.100 - Magnolia West (Panel 2)
63 - 72.550 - Burbank (Panel 1)
64 - 72.050 - Smithson Valley (Panel 2)
65 - 71.450 - Industrial (Panel 1)
66 - 69.050 - Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (Panel 2)
67 - 67.150 - Cornerstone Christian Schools (Panel 2)
68 - 66.950 - John B. Connally (Panel 2)
69 - 65.950 - Gonzales (Panel 1)
70 - 65.150 - John F. Kennedy (Panel 1)
71 - 62.600 - Crockett (Panel 2)

*Tie broken by higher general effect score
**Both bands are listed as tying in ranking on the recap, despite one band having the higher GE score
^1 - Conroe, Leander, Liberty Hill, and Pflugerville each received a 0.3 point penalty
^2 - Dawson received a 0.4 point penalty
^3 - Cinco Ranch received a 1.5 point penalty

[Origin]

I’m not mad at the tie. Flower Mound is my favorite, but Hebron’s show really grew on me, it was SO cute and I found the storytelling to be incredibly effective.

I really really hope Dripping Springs can make GN finals! You would think that a 6A State and BOA San Antonio finalist would be a lock for Nats finals, but I don’t want to get my hopes up just yet. You can never count out Round Rock too. 

Keller’s comeback from state is kindof insane. 8th in prelims here with their highest score at a BOA contest EVER. Makes you wonder what the music judges at state were hearing…

Feels like Bowie and Westlake are always right on the edge. Would love to see either attend Nats on a year that isn’t as deep.

[Lemon]

Bridgeland almost a point and half behind 13th surprised me

[packwick]

Hebron and flomo tie is pretty crazy!! def interested to see if flomo breaks the record at Nats. scores do sometimes/often drop b/w SA and Nats. feel like as long as they're top 2 it'll go up.

vandy on their own lil 3rd place island. extremely well-performed.

vista and Pearland essentially swapping places, based on most ppl's predictions. doesn't seem like it was any particular caption either, more across the board. p-land moved up from 7th to 5th, so they showed they were hangin w/ the top in finals. they were friggin' close to woodlands too!! music scores might surprise some, but u have to understand that boa judging is very much more a Michelin star approach than uil, they want the full, varied, dynamic journey.

you'd have to go back to 2010 to find 2 Houston bands in the top half of finals here and back to the very first SA super regional in 2003 to find 2 in the top 5. cool beans.

woodlands did as expected here, maybe a lil lower in VGE than i would have had them, but it could've been the dirt again. def a bit of a judge/fan split on the quality of their design this yr. im w/ the judges, per usual. i think it's very strong overall. music perf is still an issue however. trending downward since 2022. 2nd to 4th to 5th to 7th. they need to figure that out!! and i'll say again i think they need to land on a stronger vis hook and merge the fun w/ something more serious. they're Slurms MacKenzie from Futurama at this point, w/ his eyes bloodshot from partying.

Reagan in 6th both rounds, theeey're gonna appreciate that consistency at Nats methinks. wonder how big of a push they'll make for top half. i think below 2nd or 3rd that contest gets very interesting.

ofc dripping springs should be good for Nats finals after yesterday's result. more competitive field than usual but i think they'll slip in.

bummed for round rock especially, i think this one is stronger than ppl have given em credit for. if they miss Nats finals they shouldn't be thaaat far out.

[tubapop]

2 minutes ago, Lemon said:

Bridgeland almost a point and half behind 13th surprised me

The finals run wasn’t as tight as the prelims run. I think the scoring in this contest was fair, accurate and consistent. Great job by the judges

[JFNDOWBFAN]

If it walks like a duck 🦆 and quacks like

a duck 🦆, it’s a tie. 🙄 

[hsbandnerd212]

6 minutes ago, Lemon said:

Bridgeland almost a point and half behind 13th surprised me

The spread from 1st to 14th in BOA San Antonio finals usually isn't as tight as it is in prelims, and this is a good example of it. For reference, in prelims, Bridgeland was only 0.35 points away from Moe & Gene Johnson.

[JFNDOWBFAN]

🚨 copyright claim, no one steal my idea 😂 🚨 

When I retire from my current profession, I want to create a one time magazine similar to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. But for Texas Bands that focuses on the Awesome Big Rigs that move these band’s equipment around. 
 

Page Layout would have the Semi, and band picture and then a a paragraph or two about the truck or an experience to tell. 
 

Of course, next year’s edition would have to have an IN Memoriam page for Vandergrif’s truck. 

[Rubisco]

12 minutes ago, packwick said:

you'd have to go back to 2010 to find 2 Houston bands in the top half of finals here and back to the very first SA super regional in 2003 to find 2 in the top 5. cool beans.

Yep. Westfield and Stephen F. Austin in 2003. I remember that well. In fact, you might even say I was there! Not as a performer, alas. I had graduated years before that. 😅

Did you watch this full contest? I did not catch any of it, unfortunately. Interested to hear what you think will happen at Nationals. 👀

[Thanos]

I love the tie!

[rnoodles]

1 hour ago, hsbandnerd212 said:

For you nerds like me out there, here's the full prelims rankings and scores:

1 - 96.275 - Flower Mound (Panel 1)
2 - 96.250 - Hebron (Panel 2)
3 - 95.225 - Vandegrift (Panel 2)
4 - 93.525 - The Woodlands (Panel 1)
5 - 93.350 - Rouse (Panel 1)
6 - 92.600 - Ronald Reagan (Panel 2)
7 - 92.575 - Pearland (Panel 2)
8 - 92.400 - Keller (Panel 1)
9 - 92.125 - Vista Ridge** (Panel 2)
9 - 92.125 - Cedar Ridge** (Panel 1)
11 - 91.700 - Cedar Park (Panel 2)
12 - 91.150 - Dripping Springs (Panel 1)
13 - 90.800 - Moe & Gene Johnson (Panel 1)
14 - 90.450 - Bridgeland (Panel 2)

———Finals Cutoff———

15 - 90.375 - Wakeland (Panel 1)
16 - 89.600 - Westlake (Panel 2)
17 - 89.300 - James Bowie (Panel 2)
18 - 89.000 - Seven Lakes (Panel 2)
19 - 88.825 - Claudia Taylor Johnson (Panel 1)
20 - 88.650 - Leander^1 (Panel 1)
21 - 88.350 - Round Rock (Panel 1)
22 - 87.750 - Wylie East (Panel 1)
23 - 86.925 - Cy-Fair (Panel 2)
24 - 86.475 - Dawson^2 (Panel 2)
25 - 86.450 - Argyle* (Panel 1)
26 - 86.450 - Wylie* (Panel 1)
27 - 86.425 - Aledo (Panel 1)
28 - 86.325 - Timber Creek (Panel 1)
29 - 85.425 - Midlothian (Panel 1)
30 - 84.975 - College Park (Panel 1)
31 - 84.875 - Cinco Ranch^3 (Panel 1)
32 - 84.750 - Westwood (Panel 2)
33 - 84.450 - McNeil (Panel 2)
34 - 84.325 - Grand Oaks (Panel 1)
35 - 83.925 - Cypress Woods (Panel 2)
36 - 83.350 - Braswell (Panel 2)
37 - 83.050 - Liberty Hill^1 (Panel 1)
38 - 82.850 - United (Panel 1)
39 - 82.575 - Keller Central (Panel 2)
40 - 82.500 - Winston Churchill (Panel 1)
41 - 82.300 - Friendswood (Panel 2)
42 - 82.000 - Lake Travis (Panel 2)
43 - 81.750 - McCallum (Panel 2)
44 - 81.700 - Roma (Panel 1)
45 - 81.125 - McKinney (Panel 2)
46 - 81.100 - Weiss (Panel 1)
47 - 80.600 - John B. Alexander (Panel 1)
48 - 80.025 - A&M Consolidated (Panel 1)
49 - 79.200 - Pflugerville^1 (Panel 2)
50 - 79.150 - Glenn (Panel 2)
51 - 78.400 - Brazoswood (Panel 1)
52 - 78.300 - Shadow Creek (Panel 1)
53 - 77.475 - Pieper (Panel 2)
54 - 76.750 - Austin (Panel 2)
55 - 75.800 - Jourdanton (Panel 1)
56 - 74.750 - San Antonio Veterans Memorial (Panel 1)
57 - 74.450 - Conroe**^1 (Panel 2)
57 - 74.450 - Long Creek** (Panel 2)
59 - 74.425 - Pioneer (Panel 1)
60 - 74.400 - Sharyland (Panel 2)
61 - 74.125 - Waller (Panel 2)
62 - 73.100 - Magnolia West (Panel 2)
63 - 72.550 - Burbank (Panel 1)
64 - 72.050 - Smithson Valley (Panel 2)
65 - 71.450 - Industrial (Panel 1)
66 - 69.050 - Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (Panel 2)
67 - 67.150 - Cornerstone Christian Schools (Panel 2)
68 - 66.950 - John B. Connally (Panel 2)
69 - 65.950 - Gonzales (Panel 1)
70 - 65.150 - John F. Kennedy (Panel 1)
71 - 62.600 - Crockett (Panel 2)

*Tie broken by higher general effect score
**Both bands are listed as tying in ranking on the recap, despite one band having the higher GE score
^1 - Conroe, Leander, Liberty Hill, and Pflugerville each received a 0.3 point penalty
^2 - Dawson received a 0.4 point penalty
^3 - Cinco Ranch received a 1.5 point penalty

an interesting result from midlothian and liberty hill they both placed very high, even above several big 6a schools.. do we have new 5a state finalists on our hands perchance?

[josephbandfan]

Even while acknowledging my bias, I was still in disbelief when Keller didn’t make state finals. Which makes me especially happy and proud they got their comeback here. And not just barely slipping into finals or placing what most assumed would be 14th

Every finalist was amazing and love the tie for the win as well!

[AshTru9]

2 hours ago, Lemon said:

Bridgeland almost a point and half behind 13th surprised me

You being surprised by that doesn’t surprise me. 

[CincoRanchNerd67]

14 hours ago, tubapop said:

About as compelling a show theme as Cinco Ranch’s “Lemons” from last year. Got into a long debate with my wife about it. I just didn’t get it. lemons? What about them? Is there some meta meaning behind it? Is it a metaphor? Nope. Just…lemons. 
 

WOAH, where's all this "When Life Gives you Lemons" hate coming from? It wasn't just lemons but a transformation of the performers. It was about the curveballs life throws at you and how you can find joy in that.

[tubapop]

22 minutes ago, CincoRanchNerd67 said:

WOAH, where's all this "When Life Gives you Lemons" hate coming from? It wasn't just lemons but a transformation of the performers. It was about the curveballs life throws at you and how you can find joy in that.

Sorry, I phrased that pretty poorly, it was not intended to be a heavy-handed criticism. I actually loved the show from last year.

[TWHSPercDad]

3 hours ago, Rubisco said:

Yep. Westfield and Stephen F. Austin in 2003. I remember that well. In fact, you might even say I was there! Not as a performer, alas. I had graduated years before that. 😅

Did you watch this full contest? I did not catch any of it, unfortunately. Interested to hear what you think will happen at Nationals. 👀

I was there! I saw it!

I was the assistant band director at Westfield (2001-2005). Great band, great times!

[dullbanddad]

7 hours ago, AshTru9 said:

Super fascinating and is another solid argument in persuading UIL to do…something, anything…different. The opposition’s argument is the difference in judging between UIL & BOA, but that’s another aspect I strongly believe could use some tweaking. Under no circumstances should 1 judge hold so much power in anything so heavily subjective, but that’s a topic for another time. 
I hate to use Lake Travis as an example, because theirs was my personal fav show this season, but when you look at their show/scores for this season compared to a school like Bowie’s…and then notice which one advanced to state…yeah, it’s interesting. 

UIL is trying to give more points towards music instead of visuals to help level the playing field where many feel you can "buy" a BOA championship. 

[tubapop]

4 hours ago, josephbandfan said:

And not just barely slipping into finals or placing what most assumed would be 14th

uhh..thanks...😂

[BbMarching]

10 hours ago, bchorn said:

Always like to compare how schools who advanced to state from other areas stack up against Area D schools. 

Four Area D schools qualified for BOA finals...so only a handful of bands in other areas would have been able to qualify for state if they were in Area D.

Area D schools bolded

Schools that advanced to state underlined

Reagan: 6th
Cedar Ridge: 9th
Dripping Springs: 12th
M&G: 13th
Westlake: 16th
Bowie:17th
CTJ: 19th
Round Rock: 21st
Dawson: 24th
Timber Creek: 28th
College Park: 30th
Cinco Ranch: 31st
Westwood: 32nd
McNeil: 33rd
Cypress Woods: 35th
Churchill: 40th
Lake Travis 42nd

 

 

not the same, but the placements from J are such a wide spread.
AREA J

Flomo & Hebron: 1st (wow)

Wylie East: 22nd

Wylie: 26th

Braswell: 36th

Mckinney: 45th

[gregorydf01]

Here is how Area H landed.  Also a good spread and over 25% of the top 20 are from Area H:

Vandegrift 3rd
Cedar Park 7th
Rouse 8th
Vista Ridge 9th
Westlake 16th
Leander 20th
Liberty Hill 37th
Lake Travis  42nd
Glenn 50th
Veterans Memorial 56th
Burbank  63rd

[gregorydf01]

Regional Breakout for Top 20:

Austin Area:  9
DFW Area:  4
Houston Area:  4
San Antonio Area:  3

[Dad]

2 hours ago, gregorydf01 said:

Regional Breakout for Top 20:

Austin Area:  9
DFW Area:  4
Houston Area:  4
San Antonio Area:  3

 

Is the 3rd San Antonio area band in the top 20 in the room with us right now?