Deep in the Heart: Total Eclipse
Arriving one week late due to reconsideration with so many pivotal contests happening this weekend (and also a fantastic opportunity for a pun that I could not turn down) is the second edition of the Deep In The Heart series. Today, we will look back on the Pre-UIL portion of the season and then briefly touch on the BOA Waco Regional and St. Louis Super Regional.
Central Texas
This region probably saw the most surprising result in a season full of upsets, with #11 Rouse (TX) taking the BOA Austin title away from #6 Vandegrift (TX) with an awe-inspiring performance. The other big surprise from this regional was Lake Travis (TX) clinching a top-half slot and receiving their highest-ever placement at BOA Austin. Hendrickson (TX) was the unlucky first band out of the most competitive BOA Regional finals of the season, and Moe & Gene Johnson (TX) ended up not much further behind in 15th.
After making finals at BOA Austin, a drastically improved Dripping Springs (TX) earned themselves a solid first-place finish at the Capital City Marching Festival over McNeil (TX), who is looking to be stronger than they ever have been and narrowly finished in 2nd place at the Vista Ridge Marching Festival on October 7th. James Bowie (TX) made the trip to Katy for the BOA Regional and finished in a respectable 7th place behind some of Houston and San Antonio’s strongest band programs.
All of this momentum brings us to the Texas Marching Classic, often called a “BOA Austin 2.0” of sorts. Vandegrift ran away with the contest, sweeping captions with Rouse and Cedar Park (TX) neck-and-neck behind them. Round Rock (TX) jumped Lake Travis as well, but the most surprising result of the contest was McNeil finishing in 6th place ahead of BOA Austin finalists Dripping Springs, Westlake (TX), and Leander (TX).
To highlight some programs that just missed the list, Hutto (TX) and McCallum (TX) had solid first showings at BOA Austin, finishing 16th and 17th, respectively. McCallum would find themselves earning the bronze medal at CapCity, then narrowly missing out on the gold at the USBands Austin Regional on October 7th. The band winning the USBands Regional was Copperas Cove (TX) (one of the cities between Austin and Waco), which appears to be having a breakout season and could be on the radar for future rankings in Central Texas. Also from that area north of Austin, Lake Belton (TX) had a lights-out finals performance at the Vista Ridge Marching Festival, earning themselves a well-deserved top-three finish.
Central Texas Top 12:
Vandegrift (6A) ↔
Rouse (5A) ↑
Vista Ridge (6A) ↓
Cedar Park (5A) ↑
Round Rock (6A) ↓
Cedar Ridge (6A) ↓
Lake Travis (6A) ↑
Westwood (6A) ↓
Dripping Springs (6A) ↑
McNeil (6A) ↑
Westlake (6A) ↓
Leander (5A) ↓
Next 3: Hendrickson (5A), James Bowie (6A), Moe & Gene Johnson (6A)
Top 3 6A: Cedar Ridge, Vandegrift, Vista Ridge
Top 3 5A: Cedar Park, Leander, Rouse
Top 3 4A: Burnet, China Spring, Gatesville
Top 3 1A-3A: C.H. Yoe (3A), Clifton (3A), Harper (2A)
North Texas
Moving on to North Texas, we had some particularly stunning results, particularly between the HEB Marching Contest and BOA Bedford. Timber Creek (TX) surprised many when they beat Keller (TX) at the former contest, prompting many to expect a top-half finish at BOA the following weekend, only to finish in 8th place behind LD Bell (TX) and Jenks (OK). Very close behind the two Keller schools at HEB was Forney (TX), who then narrowly missed finals at BOA Bedford. Ahead of Timber Creek and taking the silver medal at HEB was #15 Wakeland (TX), even tying champion #9 Marcus (TX) for the Visual caption; at BOA Bedford, they finished comfortably in the top five just behind Coppell (TX). Speaking of Marcus, they appear to be back to standard with a decisive 2nd place finish in finals between Lewisville ISD sister schools #3 Hebron (TX) and #10 Flower Mound (TX).
Southlake Carroll (TX) made a significant improvement from last year at this regional, with a strong finish ahead of Waxahachie (TX) and Keller Central (TX). Braswell (TX) makes their way onto the list following an imposing victory at BOA Midland over Mustang (OK) and Hendrickson (TX). The BOA Prosper Regional shook things up even more, where outside of Wakeland winning dominantly in finals once again, calling this contest “predictable” would be wildly inaccurate.
Prosper (TX) and Timber Creek rounded out the top three, but after winning prelims, LD Bell found themselves in 4th place despite getting 2nd in both performance captions for finals. Keller Central and Rock Hill round out the top half, leaving heavy hitters such as Waxahachie and, most shockingly, Keller in the bottom half. Like at HEB, Forney finished closely behind Keller, and Carroll dropped two placements from the previous week’s finish at BOA Bedford.
Taking a look at some of the achievements of bands who missed the list, we’ll start by congratulating Richland (TX) for winning their very first BOA Regional Title in decisive fashion over Clovis (NM) at the Las Cruces Regional; this victory comes well over a decade after their last Grand Nationals Finals appearance in 2007. Other notable victories on September 23rd include L.V. Berkner (TX) beating BOA Midland Finalist Colleyville Heritage (TX) at the Mansfield Preview of Champions, and Anna (TX) and Celina (TX) dominating the 4A field at the Melissa Marching Showcase, finishing second and fourth respectively with Lone Star (TX) taking home the gold decisively as expected.
Burleson Centennial (TX) also had a fantastic few opening weeks, with close finishes behind Braswell and Southlake Carroll at USBands contests, ending up less than a point out of BOA Bedford finals, and then topping BOA Bedford finalist Aledo (TX) to win the Birdville Marching Festival. On September 30th, Rock Hill (TX) finished just behind Prosper, taking the guard caption at the Plano East Marching Invitational. At the Wylie Marching Invitational, McKinney Boyd (TX) finished in 2nd place ahead of Lone Star as Flower Mound took the contest in a sweep of the judges. The Wylie district rivalry was on display at the McKinney Marching Invitational on October 7th; Wylie (TX) came out on top over Wylie East (TX), followed by Argyle (TX) trailing behind in third.
North Texas Top 12:
Hebron (6A) ↔
Marcus (6A) ↑
Flower Mound (6A) ↓
Wakeland (5A) ↑
Coppell (6A) ↓
Prosper (6A) ↑
LD. Bell (6A) ↑
Timber Creek (6A) ↑
Keller Central (6A) ↑
Rock Hill (6A) ↑
Waxahachie (6A) ↓
Keller (6A) ↓
Next 3: Braswell (6A), Forney (5A), Southlake Carroll (6A)
Top 3 6A: Flower Mound, Hebron, Marcus
Top 3 5A: Aledo, Forney, Wakeland
Top 3 4A: Anna, Celina, Panther Creek
Top 3 1A-3A: Atlanta (3A), Mineola (3A), Redwater (3A)
South Texas
Taking our sights down south, there have been many shake-ups once we leave the top two, with #2 Ronald Reagan (TX) having a solid second-place finish at BOA Katy and CT Johnson (TX) falling all the way down to sixth place in finals. The season for this region didn’t really kick off until September 30th, with BOA McAllen headlining the weekend where Roma (TX) won decisively, with Pieper (TX) and John B. Alexander (TX) rounding out the top three; United (TX) trailed behind, even beating Alexander in prelims. Meanwhile, up in Converse, the Ludwig-Musser Classic was held where 2nd to 4th place was a tight battle between John M. Harlan (TX), James Madison (TX), and William H. Taft (TX).
The following weekend saw two USBands regionals: Austin and Hill Country. William J. Brennan (TX) took fourth at the Austin Regional but with a decisive two-point lead over John M. Harlan. Down the road, Pieper (TX) won the contest by over two points over James Madison (TX). The last major contest with South Texas bands was the Vista Ridge Marching Festival. Winston Churchill (TX) upset McNeil for the victory, and William H. Taft took the overall General Effect caption. New Braunfels (TX), Sandra Day O’Connor (TX), and Louis D. Brandeis (TX) rounded out the finals lineup for South Texas representation.
On the outside looking in, Douglas MacArthur (TX) has had a fairly strong season with three consecutive top-five finishes at USBands Regionals, including an overall win at the San Antonio Regional on September 23rd. After a slow start, Byron P. Steele II (TX) appears to have caught up to the pack after tying MacArthur for third at the USBands Hill Country Regional. Davenport (TX) was crowned overall champion at the Comal Classic Marching Festival. Tom C. Clark (TX) had an impressive showing at the BOA Austin Regional but has otherwise stayed behind the rest of the pack at USBands contests. Sharyland (TX) opted out of BOA McAllen this year, but they’re expected to be still one of the stronger bands in the Rio Grande Valley once again.
South Texas Top 12:
Ronald Reagan (6A) ↔
Claudia Taylor Johnson (6A) ↔
Winston Churchill (6A) ↑
Roma (5A) ↑
William J. Brennan (6A) ↑
Pieper (5A) ↑
William H. Taft (6A) ↑
John M. Harlan (6A) ↑
James Madison (6A)
John B. Alexander (6A) ↓
New Braunfels (6A) ↓
Sandra Day O’Connor (6A) ↓
Next 3: Louis D. Brandeis (6A), Pioneer (5A), United (6A)
Top 3 6A: CT Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill
Top 3 5A: Pieper, Roma, Pioneer
Top 3 4A: Calallen, Davenport, Floresville
Top 3 1A-3A: Hondo (3A), Industrial (3A), Natalia (3A)
Southeast
Heading out to the Houston area, most of our info came from the two Houston regionals, with Cy-Fair (TX) winning their first Regional title at BOA Conroe on September 30th and coming in third place at the top-heavy BOA Katy Regional. The Woodlands (TX) won the latter contest by over a point, sweeping captions in the process of their victory. Pearland (TX) and Bridgeland (TX) had strong finishes at Katy as well, coming out on top of CTJ. Clear Brook (TX), Klein Oak (TX), and Friendswood (TX) trailed behind Cy-Fair at Conroe, and College Park (TX) ended fifth while also surprisingly winning the overall Music award in finals. Dawson (TX) found themselves ahead of Cypress Woods (TX) and Seven Lakes (TX) at both Regionals, but Friendswood (TX), who was above those three at Conroe, fell behind the pack at Katy.
Stephen F. Austin (TX) and Brazoswood (TX) also found themselves as finalists at Conroe and Katy, respectively, earning them spots in the Next 3. Outside of BOA, Dickinson (TX) won the USBands Houston Regional very convincingly on September 30th, and North Shore (TX) had a great showing on October 7th at the Channelview ISD Marching Contest. Dickinson would impress greatly at the Lone Star Preview, finishing third ahead of Klein Oak and Clear Brook, and College Park found themselves in 2nd place behind Bridgeland, who won the contest very comfortably.
After making finals at BOA Conroe, Foster (TX) did not quite make it into the top 12 after prelims, ending up in the first spot out of finals. Tomball Memorial (TX) also had finishes narrowly out of finals at Conroe and Katy. While Oak Ridge (TX) found themselves amongst the finalist lineup at Conroe, they finished significantly lower at Katy. 15th place at Katy wound up being Spring (TX), who had also won the Alvin ISD Marching Contest a week prior. Clements (TX) got a close second place to Brazoswood at USBands Baytown and finished similarly behind Clear Brook at the Gulf Coast Marching Classic. Also boasting two silver medals is Pasadena Memorial (TX), coming in behind Dickinson at USBands Houston and North Shore at Channelview. Grand Oaks (TX) tied with Pasadena Memorial at the USBands competition and then had a respectable 6th-place finish over Brazoswood at the Lone Star Preview.
Southeast Texas Top 12:
The Woodlands (6A) ↔
Cy-Fair (6A) ↑
Pearland (6A) ↓
Bridgeland (6A) ↑
College Park (6A) ↑
Dickinson (6A) ↑
Klein Oak (6A) ↓
Clear Brook (6A) ↑
Dawson (6A) ↑
Cypress Woods (6A) ↓
Seven Lakes (6A) ↓
North Shore (6A) ↓
Next 3: Brazoswood (6A), Friendswood (5A), Stephen F. Austin (6A)
Top 3 6A: Cy-Fair, Pearland, The Woodlands
Top 3 5A: Barbers Hill, Foster, Friendswood
Top 4 4A: Bridge City, Lumberton, Splendora
Top 3 1A-3A: Ganado (2A), Tarkington (3A), Tenaha (2A)
West Texas
Finally, we end up back out in West Texas, where on the first weekend of competition, we saw JM Hanks (TX) win the T-Bird Marching Invitational quite convincingly with Pebble Hills (TX), El Paso Franklin (TX), and Montwood (TX) trailing behind at a distance. Parkland (TX) and Horizon (TX) also had strong finishes in finals to round out the top six. Meanwhile, at the BOA Las Cruces Regional, Eastlake (TX) ended on an island in 3rd place behind Clovis. The following weekend at BOA Midland, Permian (TX) was by far the highest scoring of the West Texas programs, finishing 7th place in finals, followed by Lubbock-Cooper (TX), Frenship (TX), and Midland (TX) in a very tight group of three. However, at the Westerner Marching Festival the following weekend, Frenship ended up ahead of Lubbock-Cooper, who were both well ahead of the rest of the field in final score.
While Randall (TX) was a finalist at BOA Midland, fellow Canyon ISD bands West Plains (TX) and Canyon (TX) were at the High Plains Marching Festival, in which they got a clean sweep for the district between the two. We got more shake-ups in the El Paso area that weekend at the Socorro ISD Marching Festival, where J.M. Hanks won again, but this time with Pebble Hills not too far behind in 2nd place, and El Paso Coronado (TX) close behind as well. Horizon (TX) ended up in a distant 4th, but possibly most surprising about their finish was how comfortable their lead over Midland was. Franklin, Eastlake, and Montwood ranked among the top 8 finalists in descending order.
I will start this next section by highlighting all of the 4A bands who did not make the list but are all proving to make the 4A scene in West Texas stronger than ever. Pecos (TX) has typically been the only program out west to challenge the Canyon ISD bands in their class, but this year, we have seen very strong showings from Riverside (TX), Andrews (TX), and Greenwood (TX). Outside of 4A, Midland Legacy (TX) had narrow finals misses at both BOA Las Cruces and Midland. San Angelo Central (TX) and Abilene Wylie (TX) did reasonably well at Midland. Amarillo (TX) finished in 3rd place behind the two Canyon ISD bands at the High Plains Marching Festival, and Abilene (TX) won the Big Country Marching Festival very decisively. Lubbock Coronado (TX) finished third at the Westerner Marching Festival, with 2A band Sundown (TX) very close behind.
West Texas Top 12:
Permian (6A) ↔
J.M. Hanks (5A) ↔
Pebble Hills (6A) ↑
El Paso Coronado (6A) ↔
Frenship (6A) ↑
Lubbock-Cooper (5A) ↑
Midland (6A) ↓
Horizon (5A) ↑
El Paso Franklin (6A) ↑
Eastlake (6A) ↓
Montwood (6A) ↑
Randall (4A) ↑
Next 3: Canyon (4A), Parkland (5A), West Plains (4A)
Top 3 6A: El Paso Coronado, Pebble Hills, Permian
Top 3 5A: Horizon, J.M. Hanks, Lubbock-Cooper
Top 3 4A: Canyon, Randall, West Plains
Top 3 1A-3A: Top 3 1A-3A: Clyde (3A), Panhandle (2A), Sundown (2A)
Looking Ahead
Finally, we get to look forward to the BOA Waco Regional on October 28th, which could be one of the season's most exciting and unpredictable regionals, which, judging off this year, is saying quite a lot. Given its relatively central location in the state, four of the five regions are represented well. From the home region of Central Texas, Dripping Springs leads the charge as the favorite to win the regional, with Moe & Gene Johnson and San Marcos (TX) also stepping in as solid Austin area representation. Harker Heights (TX) and the hosts Midway (TX) appear as a few of the stronger programs between Austin and DFW. North Texas has solid bands making the trip to Waco, most notably the BOA Midland Champions Braswell. Plano East (TX), Rock Hill, McKinney (TX), Wylie (TX), and Lake Ridge (TX) will all almost certainly be finalists in this competition. Given distance, the South and Southeast Regions are more sparsely represented, with Clear Brook from the Houston area and Winston Churchill and New Braunfels from the San Antonio area rounding out the potential finalists at this competition.
I also want to highlight Westwood and Southlake Carroll and their trip to the BOA St. Louis Super Regional on the weekend of October 28th, as both bands could contend for a medal. Both are in interesting spots when it comes to making predictions, as Westwood hasn’t competed since BOA Austin back in week one, and Carroll’s results have been quite inconsistent. Could either of these bands beat the elusive Blue Springs (MO) on the hunt for their first Super Regional Title? Could Bentonville (AR) and O’Fallon Township (IL) also be in this conversation? We likely will not know the answers until the announcement of prelims results on Saturday afternoon, so stay tuned…
Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. 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. Aaron currently works front of house at Interstellar BBQ in North Austin. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.