BOA San Antonio SUPER Preview
The Third of the 2022 Super Regional Previews!
This is the moment that every Texan band nerd has been anticipating all season. Affectionately called “BOA Grand Nationals South” by many, bands from all across the state gather at the Alamodome for the BOA San Antonio Super Regional. It caps off the season for many programs but marks the beginning of the end for others if they go to the UIL State Marching Contest or BOA Grand Nationals (North). Over the past decade, the level of competition in Texas has grown immensely and is all showcased here over two days. For many years, it has been easy to argue that BOA San Antonio is just as competitive, if not more competitive, than the contest in Indianapolis that occurs a week later.
Now, who is at this Super Regional this year? Let me sum it up: Of the 82 bands here, 57 made finals at their UIL Area Contests on October 22nd or 29th, and 14 of those bands were crowned Area Champions. Thirty of these programs will perform at the UIL State Marching Championships between Monday and Wednesday. On the BOA side, 47 Regional Finalists from this year alone are in attendance, many of whom made finals at multiple events, and six are Regional Champions. Unfortunately, only one of these groups is going to BOA Grand Nationals next weekend.
Here is the full schedule (all times CT):
FRIDAY
Panel 1
9:15 AM - Georgetown (TX)
9:30 AM - W. Charles Akins (TX)*
9:45 AM - Mission Veterans Memorial (TX)*
10:00 AM - Tom Glenn (TX)*
10:15 AM - Pflugerville (TX)*
10:30 AM - James Bowie (TX)*
BREAK
Panel 2
11:00 AM - United (TX)*
11:15 AM - Troy (TX)
11:30 AM - Smithson Valley (TX)*
11:45 AM - New Braunfels (TX)*
12:00 PM - #11 Cedar Ridge (TX)**
12:15 PM - Dripping Springs (TX)
12:30 PM - James E. Taylor (TX)*
12:45 PM - John B. Alexander (TX)*
1:00 PM - Byron P. Steele II (TX)*
1:15 PM - Rio Grande City (TX)
1:30 PM - #7 Vista Ridge (TX)**
1:45 PM -#24 Westlake (TX)*
Panel 1
2:00 PM - McCallum (TX)*
2:15 PM - Waller (TX)*
2:30 PM - Anderson (TX)
2:45 PM - Jack C. Hays (TX)*
3:00 PM - #19 Round Rock (TX)*
3:15 PM - Lake Travis (TX)*
3:30 PM - Foster (TX)
3:45 PM - Douglas MacArthur (TX)*
4:00 PM - Liberal Arts and Science Academy (TX)
4:15 PM - Legacy of Educational Excellence (TX)*
4:30 PM - Sandra Day O’Connor (TX)*
4:45 PM - Churchill Fulshear (TX)*
5:00 PM - San Antonio Veterans Memorial (TX)*
BREAK
Panel 2
5:30 PM - Hendrickson (TX)*
5:45 PM - #14 Cedar Park (TX)**
6:00 PM - Westwood (TX)*
6:15 PM - Louis D. Brandeis (TX)
6:30 PM - Rouse (TX)**
6:45 PM - Jourdanton (TX)*
7:00 PM - McNeil (TX)*
7:15 PM - Winston Churchill (TX)*
7:30 PM - #6 Vandegrift (TX)**
7:45 PM - Hidalgo Early College (TX)*
BREAK
Panel 1
8:15 PM - Leander (TX)**
8:30 PM - Keller Central (TX)*
8:45 PM - #8 Ronald Reagan (TX)**
9:00 PM - Odem (TX)
9:15 PM - Timber Creek (TX)*
9:30 PM - Magnolia (TX)
9:45 PM - #12 Claudia Taylor Johnson (TX)**
10:00 PM - A&M Consolidated (TX)
10:15 PM - Keller (TX)**
10:30 PM - #5 Flower Mound (TX)
SATURDAY
Panel 2
7:30 AM - Pecos (TX)*
7:45 AM - L.D. Bell (TX)
8:00 AM - Clear Creek (TX)*
8:15 AM - Seven Lakes (TX)*
8:30 AM - College Station (TX)
8:45 AM - Lubbock-Cooper (TX)
9:00 AM - Dawson (TX)*
9:15 AM - Whitesboro (TX)*
9:30 AM - #17 Coppell (TX)**
9:45 AM - Oak Ridge (TX)*
Panel 1
10:00 AM - Clear Springs (TX)
10:15 AM - Del Rio (TX)*
10:30 AM - Pearland (TX)**
10:45 AM - Cypress Woods (TX)*
11:00 AM - Argyle (TX)
11:15 AM - Cy-Fair (TX)
11:30 AM - Friendswood (TX)*
11:45 AM - Forney (TX)
12:00 PM - Sachse (TX)*
12:15 PM - Burleson (TX)
12:30 PM - #13 Marcus (TX)**
12:45 PM - College Park (TX)*
BREAK
Panel 2
1:15 PM - #1 Hebron (TX)**
1:30 PM - Rock Hill (TX)
1:45 PM - Klein Oak (TX)*
2:00 PM - Wylie (TX)*
2:15 PM - Azle (TX)*
2:30 PM - #16 The Woodlands (TX)**
2:45 PM - Highland Park (TX)
3:00 PM - Wylie East (TX)*
3:15 PM - Waxahachie (TX)*
3:30 PM - University of Texas at Arlington (Exh.)
* Denotes returning group
** Denotes returning finalist
Similar to how I do the local contest previews, we’re going to talk about the bands by region of the state, starting with West Texas. The only representatives from this region are Lubbock-Cooper (TX), the 5A Area A East Champion, and Pecos (TX), the Class A Champion from BOA Midland. Going south, we have BOA McAllen and Midland Finalist Del Rio (TX). If we continue our way along the border, we’ll find fellow McAllen Finalists Rio Grande City (TX), United (TX), Hidalgo Early College (TX), and Regional Champion John B. Alexander (TX), who was also crowned Champion at the UIL 6A Area G Contest.
Looping our way along the gulf coast, we find ourselves in Houston with consistent BOA San Antonio Finalist and this year’s UIL 6A Area F Champion, #16 The Woodlands (TX). They are joined by local powerhouses such as 6A Area E’s and I’s respective Champions in Pearland (TX) and Cy-Fair (TX). Seven Lakes (TX) and Cypress Woods (TX) had close finishes behind Cy-Fair at Area and could prove to push their fellow Houston brethren. Also worth mentioning are other BOA Conroe and Katy Finalists, such as College Park (TX), Dawson (TX), Klein Oak (TX), and Oak Ridge (TX). They all also qualified for the 6A State Marching Championships alongside James E. Taylor (TX). All three 5A Area E medalists are here with Churchill Fulshear (TX), Foster (TX), and Area Champion Friendswood (TX), as well as 5A Area I Champion Magnolia (TX).
Moving up north into the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we get to visit the LISD North trio in #13 Marcus (TX), #5 Flower Mound (TX), and #1 Hebron (TX). Bands that could prove to be strong contenders for the Super Regional finals are 6A Area B Champion Coppell (TX) and their fellow State Qualifiers from that contest in Waxahachie (TX), Timber Creek (TX), Keller (TX), and L.D. Bell (TX). State Qualifiers out of Area C include Wylie ISD schools, Wylie (TX), and Wylie East (TX), who could surprise many with how high they could place here. Rock Hill (TX) has had quite a successful season, qualifying for finals at both DFW Regionals. At Prosper, they were joined by BOA Midland Finalists Sachse (TX) and Azle (TX), who made finals and narrowly missed, respectively. Forney (TX) and Keller Central (TX) performed alongside Rock Hill and Sachse in finals at the North Texas Regional. Argyle (TX) was a Finalist and crowned Class AA Champion at BOA Waco, and they will also be the favorite for the Class Title here. Finally making their way down from up by the Oklahoma border, 3A UIL Area B Champion Whitesboro (TX) looks to claim the Class A Title.
Down into Central Texas, this very quickly growing area for the marching arts provides us Finals Locks in Leander ISD’s #14 Cedar Park (TX), #7 Vista Ridge (TX), and #6 Vandegrift (TX) as well as Round Rock ISD’s #11 Cedar Ridge (TX). All eight of the other BOA Austin Finalists are in attendance, and all have an argument to make for finals. Rouse (TX) and Leander (TX) solidified their cases for finals with strong finishes at BOA Waco. Hendrickson (TX) will be playing catchup in preparation for Grand Nationals, as they had to drop the Waco Regional due to a large portion of their band being out with the flu. #24 Westlake (TX) and Westwood (TX) were in the top half of finals at BOA Prosper. At the same time, #19 Round Rock (TX) hasn’t attended a BOA Regional since Austin. However, with a solid top-five finish at the Texas Marching Classic, they are still a contender.
On the contrary, San Antonio will be Lake Travis’s (TX) fourth BOA event and second Super Regional of the season, making finals at all three competitions (Austin, Katy, and St. Louis) before this one. Also attending an out-of-state event was James Bowie (TX), who took home the bronze medal at BOA Orlando. Dripping Springs (TX), potentially having a late-season surge, qualified for the 6A UIL State Marching Championships out of Area D over Westwood and James Bowie. Some of the other strongest programs out of Greater Austin not mentioned above include McNeil (TX) and Tom Glenn (TX). Four programs out of 5A Area D that had decent success either there or at BOA Waco include Jack C. Hays (TX), Liberal Arts and Science Academy (TX), McCallum (TX), and Georgetown (TX). Not in Austin, but still in Central Texas are 3A Area D Finalist Troy (TX) and 5A Area I Finalist College Station (TX).
Finally, we finish our season's final road trip in the host city for the Super Regional, with North East ISD’s power duo of #8 Ronald Reagan (TX) and #12 Claudia Taylor Johnson (TX). The two bands just shy of qualifying for State out of UIL 6A Area H were Sandra Day O’Connor (TX) and Louis D. Brandeis (TX), who both started their seasons as Finalists at the BOA McAllen Regional. The final three bands out of the San Antonio area worth keeping an eye on this weekend are New Braunfels (TX), who were only a few spots out of BOA Austin Finals, 6A Area D Finalist Winston Churchill (TX), and 5A Area D Finalist Smithson Valley (TX).
As always, the depth of this competition is on another level. There will be bands deserving of a title not winning, bands deserving of the top half not in the top seven, and bands worthy of finals not making the cut. While this seems to be the case every year, ask any Texas Band Super Fan, and they will tell you that there is something special about this year. GEM will have extensive coverage at this event, so feel free to come and say hi!
Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. Despite being young and fresh out of college, he has a vast knowledge and passion for the marching arts and has worked alongside the likes of HornRank as a ranker and moderator as well as the TxBands.com liveblog team since summer 2021. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.