Pre-Season Regional Predictions

[Tenzineo]

What are your guy's early predictions for this season? I'm really excited for this season due to the new McAllen regional, and the stacked San Antonio regional.

 

Here are my predictions for some of this years regionals.

 

AUSTIN:

 

1. James Bowie

They will most likely win it, they have for the past two years pretty definitively. I wouldn't be surprised if Leander or Round Rock snagged a caption.

2. Round Rock

I put Round Rock above Leander because it's hard to tell if last year was just a special year for Leander. Round Rock has been getting better and better these past few years, and now that they're splitting into a varsity and non varsity band, they are going to have a new level or refinement.

3. Leander

After coming off a VERY strong season last year I expect them to do well. I don't know if they'll change their approach this year due to 5A state, which could affect how well they score, but nevertheless I think they'll sound as great as always.

 

These are definitely my top 3. I think Round Rock and Leander could potentially upset the competition and win it in finals. But Bowie seems to be a step above the rest this early in the season.

 

As for the rest of the bands I would expect Reagan, Cedar Park, Vandergrift, and Coppell to do well. It is hard to tell how Cedar Ridge will do, as their head band director has left, but usually I would expect them in the top half of finals. I think the last few spots will be a battle between Vista Ridge, Winston Churchill, Dripping Springs, Westlake, Hendrickson, and Westwood. I think Anderson, Pflugerville, Mcallum, and Stephen F. Austin are also contenders, but most likely will be kicked out due to the bands above.

 

Overall I love this regional due to the depth of talent in the bands that go there. I feel that if maybe a couple more "powerhouse" bands went, such as CTJ, this regional could be considered a "mini BOA San Antonio".

 

*Top Three*

1. James Bowie

2. Round Rock

3. Leander

 

*Locks*

Cedar Park

Coppell

Ronald Reagan

Vandergrift

 

*Upper Bubble*

Cedar Ridge

Dripping Springs

Vista Ridge

 

*Lower Bubble*

Hendrickson

Westlake

Winston Churchill

Westwood

 

*Other Contenders*

Anderson

Pflugerville

Mcallum

Stephen F. Austin

 

Captions:

Music - Highly contested, but most likely James Bowie

Visual - James Bowie

General Effect - James Bowie

 

 

MCALLEN:

 

Unfortunately I know little about many of the bands going to make accurate predictions for this regional.

However I think it is extremely likely that Claudia Taylor Johnson will sweep the competition. As for other bands, I have heard Harlingen, Edinburgh North, and Sandra Day O'Connor are good, so I see them making finals.

 

Predictions

 

1. Claudia Taylor Johnson

 

Captions:

Music - Claudia Taylor Johnson

Visual - Claudia Taylor Johnson

General Effect - Claudia Taylor Johnson

 

CONROE:

 

Conroe was very exciting to watch last year as CTJ and The Woodlands battled it out for first. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen again this year, so I'm looking forward to it. I'll give CTJ the edge due to their great season last year, I also expect The Woodlands to be focusing more on Grand Nats that the early regionals, so they probably won't be as clean as they have been other years. I expect Reagan to make first, even thought they might not be as strong as they were a decade ago, they've still consistently proven that they have what it takes to be a Texas powerhouse.

 

I expect Keller to make finals, they will be strong this year as they are attending Grand Nats, and just came off of 6A State Finals last year. Along with them I see Cedar Ridge, Winston Churchill, and The Woodlands of College Park making finals, with Cypress Falls, Spring, Westwood, Brazoswood, and Stephen F. Austin competing for the rest of the spots.

 

*Top Three*

1. Claudia Taylor Johnson

2. The Woodlands

3. Ronald Reagan

 

*Locks*

Cedar Ridge

Cypress Falls

Stephen F. Austin

The Woodlands of College Park

Winston Churchill

 

*Bubble*

Brazoswood

Spring

Westwood

 

ARLINGTON

 

This regional is so stacked it's ridiculous. There are so many Grand National caliber bands here, it's going to be a slaughter to see who gets in or not. I still expect the top two to be Hebron and Marcus. I really can't fully get behind one of them to be first, I'll say Marcus right now, in case Hebron will be holding back a bit for Grand Nats/ BOASA. As for third I can't say, with Round Rock, L.D. Bell, Flower Mound, and Coppell competing, it's going to be really close. L.V. Berkner, Jenks, Keller, Keller Central, and Richland are also great bands that are competing for finalist spots. With great smaller bands such as Wakeland, and Aledo this is a regional to watch.

 

*Top Two*

1. Marcus

2. Hebron

 

*Locks*

Coppell

Flower Mound

L.D. Bell

Round Rock

 

*Upper Bubble*

Jenks

Keller

L.V. Berkner

 

*Lower Bubble*

Keller Central

Richland

Wakeland

 

SAN ANTONIO

 

I'm not even going to try and properly predict the results of this Super-Regional yet. After the regionals I will have a better idea of what will probably happen (not that it will help that much). I'm really excited to see who will come out on top this year. Ever since the Marcus/Bell dominance was broken, there has been new victors every year, and I hope that repeats this year with a new band like Hebron, Leander, or Bowie winning it.

 

*Locks*

The Woodlands

Claudia Taylor Johnson

James Bowie

Hebron

Marcus

Ronald Reagan

 

*Upper Bubble*

Leander*

Round Rock

Flower Mound

Cedar Park

Cedar Ridge

Vandergrift

Coppell

Owasso

 

*Lower Bubble*

Hendrickson

Westlake

Keller

Keller Central

Vista Ridge

Plano East Senior

[Bonelife]

Can't wait to see Bowie sweep again at Austin! Must be absolutely exhausting for that poor drum major to retrieve all those trophies.

Sad to say that Westlake will be losing two directors going into next year, one of which handled marching (the one that gave us that boost when he came in in 2012) and the other percussion. Might affect our placements.

 

EDIT: Turns out another director is leaving! Westlake will only have the same head director as last year. The head band director from Reagan, percussion instructor from hebron, and her are all going to be working at a new high school out in Frisco called Reedy. 

[Nny14]

I don't see how tieing for GE with Leander and losing music to CTJ is exactly "sweeping".

[Bonelife]

Yeah, you've got me there. They stil do incredibly at the beginning of the season. It's really impressive.

[Nny14]

Very true

[MaryJoLisa]

I don't see how tieing for GE with Leander and losing music to CTJ is exactly "sweeping".

 

Those were the 2013 results.  Bowie took Music and Visual and tied in GE with Leander in 2014, so more or less a sweep.  CTJ didn't attend in 2014 though.

[bancl]

In addition to changes at Westlake, Leander, Cedar Ridge, and Reagan all will have new head directors next year.  

[HighSchoolBandNerd212]

Here are my predictions for some of this years regionals.

 

AUSTIN:

 

*Other Contenders*

Anderson

Pflugerville

Mcallum

Stephen F. Austin

 

Does anyone know if this Stephen F. Austin is the band from Austin or the band from Sugar Land?

It's more likely that it's the one from Sugar Land, but I'm not sure.

[knoxisawesome348]

Does anyone know if this Stephen F. Austin is the band from Austin or the band from Sugar Land?

It's more likely that it's the one from Sugar Land, but I'm not sure.

 

Sugar Land, it's on their calendar.

 

 

I also predict Claudia Taylor Johnson will sweep the McAllen regional with at least a solid 7-8 point differential between them and the 2nd place band. Wouldn't be surprised to see it be over 10 points (unless a band like Reagan decides to sign up).

 

 

My regional champion picks are:

 

Austin: James Bowie

McAllen: CTJ

Conroe: CTJ

Arlington: Hebron

San Antonio: CTJ (My next pick would be The Woodlands)

 

Grand Nats: The Woodlands (Their best show yet?)

 

Boring and predictable haha. Hopefully some typiclally underestimated band will jump ahead of the pack the way Leander did this year (which always makes things way more exciting).

[Nny14]

Here's some fun little fearless guesses I have for 2015

 

Austin: A new champion

 

McAllen: Honestly can't see CTJ losing any leverage here

 

Arlington: Marcus makes a early win ahead of Hebron

 

Conroe: Woodlands take back this regional

 

SA: Champion is too hard at this point, Hendrickson makes finals

 

Grand Nats: Hebron takes music in finals, Woodlands or Round Rock win visual in semis or finals

 

With UIL I feel Leander will be less of a threat in the BOA circuit (still being a solid finalist of course), however I feel they have a good shot as 5A champion. Still as we've seen with Vandegrift in 2013 that's by no means will have any effect on their success.

[LKendrick]

I've given up on predicting high school, there's too many changing variables and stuff that we just don't know about that happens staff wise.  The only one I feel like predicting is CTJ winning McAllen.  

[Jellyfishes]

 

Boring and predictable haha. Hopefully some typiclally underestimated band will jump ahead of the pack the way Leander did this year (which always makes things way more exciting).

*cough cough* Keller, Richland, Berkner *cough cough*

[snares]

I honesty don't know who will win any of the Texas regionals. But I do have an opinion on Arlington, and almost all of us can agree that Hebron and Marcus are the bands to beat, but I don't think they will be beaten. Marcus and Hebron have really kinda broken away these past two or three years, and I think it will stay that way, at least this year. I think Hebron will take it, and if you notice, Hebron started to break out of he "concert" marching band style, one that Marcus has stuck with. I

[bandperson1997]

AUSTIN:
1) James Bowie- Always great, but not unbeatable. 

2) Round Rock- Always love their show. Best chance at beating Round Rock. 

3) Cedar Park- Always good.

4) Leander- Great year last year. 

5) Copell- Great.

6) Vandergrift- Should be great since it's also a state year.

7) Ronald Regean- Usually great, but it depends on if they get to a slow start like last year. 

8) Vista Ridge- Amazing year last year, will they be able to pull it off again? They didn't make finals last year though. Slow start?

9) Dripping Springs- Always a clean show. 

Competing for last spot-

Cedar Ridge- Good band, but lost their head band director. 

Hendrikson- Great band, one away from SA finals.

Anderson- Made it two years ago getting 7th ahead of Cedar Ridge, but had a bad start last year. 

Churchill- Good band, but didn't make area finals or SA finals, when other bands in this bubble did. 

Pflugerville- I extremely enjoyed their show last year. It's very possible. 

Westwood- Uprising band that made state. Depends on their show theme and how clean it is. 

 

Music- Round Rock

Visual- Bowie

GE- Bowie

 

MCALLEN: 
Like others, I don't know much about this contest. 

I bet CTJ will sweep. 

This is loads less competitive than BOA Austin, but still, great bands. 

CONROE:
1) CTJ

2) Woodlands

3) Spring

4) Reagan 

5) SFA

6) Cedar Ridge

7) Brazoswood

8) Westwood

9) Cypress Falls

Bubble bands for last spot-

Churchill- Once again, they are a good band, just have been on a downward slope. 

The Woodlands at College Park

 

CTJ caption sweep

ARLINGTON
1) Marcus
2) Hebron 

3) Round Rock
4) Coppell

5) L.D. Bell

6) Flower Mound
7) Keller

8) Keller Central

9) Wakeland

Bubble Bands for last spot-

L.V. Berkner

Richland- Great band, I hope they make it!

SAN ANTONIO
1) Marcus

2) The Woodlands

3) CTJ

4) Hebron

5) James Bowie

6) Leander

7) Round Rock

8) Cedar Park

9) Vandergrift

10) Copell

Bubble Bands for bottom four: (in no order) (too many previous finalists and good bands to count...)

Cedar Ridge- Once again, with the loss of their head band director that made them good, it could be difficult. 

Owasso- Great band in Oklahoma, but their competing with the big boys now. They could be in for a surprise.

Hendrickson- One spot away last year. I think they have the potential. 

Westlake- Had a not so good year last year. They also lost 3 band directors. Will be hard. 

Keller- State finals. However, BOA judges SO DIFFERENTLY than UIL. 

Anderson- Same as Pflugerville. They always peak at the end. They also beat Round Rock and Westlake at Area Prelims (I know... UIL is different, that's also partly due to one judge killing RR). Anything can happen. 

Vista Ridge- Made SA finals last year. I think they have what it takes. 

Pflugerville- Like I said before, their show last year was great. They made BOA Austin finals before (which is no easy task), so I have hope for them. 

 

They should really let the top 25 in finals. The top 25 or even 30 could make any other finals anywhere else. So unfair

 

[scoobydoo]

Cedar Ridge actually lost two directors. Calima and Brittain.

[bandperson1997]

Hopefully they'll be able to overcome it! 

[snares]

The thing that I love about this time of year is that we don't know at all what will happen. Maybe someone has a break out year and wins SA, maybe flowermound beats our Hebron and Marcus at Arlington. Maybe College park woodlands beats the woodlands. It's so exciting how much we don't know! Can't wait!

[Bonelife]

Hopefully Westlake can come off strong with the new staff. I haven't heard any names yet but 2012 was one of the best years we have had in a while and we lost a director going into that. But it's true that three band directors might be a different matter altogether.

[dylan123]

Friendswood isn't going to BOA Conroe this year. They are still going to BOA SA. They are also going to Round Rock. How do you think Friendswood will do this year in their second year of 6A?

[HighSchoolBandNerd212]

Ronald Reagan isn't signed up for the Austin regional this year.

[bandperson1997]

Friendswood is a great band. I predict teens at BOA SA. Anything could happen though.

 

I'm surprised Reagan isn't signed up for Austin. Oh well though, more room for other bands!

[bandperson1997]

I've recently stumbled upon the Texas Marching Classic's website and saw that there are ALOT of good bands going. (This could be one of the most competitive non-BOA events this year). Anyone want to make predictions? I'll make some pre-season predictions.

 

1) James Bowie

2) Vandegrift

3) Reagan 

4) Leander

5) Cedar Park

6) Anderson

7) Friendswood

8) Lake Travis

9) James Madison

Bubble Bands for 10th

Canyon- Don't really know much about this band, so can't make an accurate prediction.

McNeil- Good band, has made Area D finals in 2012. 

Georgetown- Made finals last year. 

East View- I like this band, but they're pretty small. But I think they are contenders. 

Akins- Has a very successful history, but has been going downhill recently. Still have hope!

[snares]

Ronald Reagan isn't signed up for the Austin regional this year.

Ronald Reagan probably isn't going because they just lost their head director (Chavis) to a new school in the Dallas Matroplex area (I don't know what school or where I just know it's in the Dallas area). That might be it but you never know

[Jellyfishes]

Ronald Reagan probably isn't going because they just lost their head director (Chavis) to a new school in the Dallas Matroplex area (I don't know what school or where I just know it's in the Dallas area). That might be it but you never know

I think I read online that he is going to a new high school in Frisco. I'm hoping they recover with an out of the box show.

[HighSchoolBandNerd212]

Ronald Reagan probably isn't going because they just lost their head director (Chavis) to a new school in the Dallas Matroplex area (I don't know what school or where I just know it's in the Dallas area). That might be it but you never know

Though Claudia Taylor Johnson came to the regional in 2013, placed second in prelims, and hasn't returned to it since. I think that this reflects the fact that bands sometimes "try out" a regional that they don't normally go to (I mean "try out" in a very loose sense).