Lone Star Preview 10/17-19
With most Region contests now complete, many Area contests have finalized lists of who qualified and will likely be attending. However, twelve contests still have yet to occur with hefty implications, so let’s look at them.
We finished in South Texas, where we left off on Saturday, but all of their contests have wrapped up, so we will start in West Texas today. Region 6 is holding its East Zone Marching Contest at the Hugh Sandifer Stadium in Abilene. Some of the bands at this contest include the three Abilene schools Abilene (TX), Abilene Cooper (TX), and Abilene Wylie (TX), representing the big schools, but also some smaller bands who have a chance at qualifying for State such as Colorado (TX), Clyde (TX), and Andrews (TX).
Let’s make our way back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where three contests are yet to have been completed, starting with Region 31 on Monday, where BOA Finalists #18 Coppell (TX), L.D. Bell (TX), Carroll (TX), and Grapevine (TX) will receive their ratings alongside bands such as Haltom (TX), Colleyville Heritage (TX), Richland (TX), and the sole Small Band, Ranchview (TX). We have two more contests on Wednesday: Region 3 2A/4A/6A (Mesquite Memorial Stadium, Mesquite) and Region 20 6A (Panther Stadium, Duncanville). You will be able to catch BOA Finalist Sachse (TX) along with some other exciting bands such as Rockwall (TX), who was only two spots out of BOA Prosper Finals yesterday, Royse City (TX), who just moved up from 5A and Rockwall-Heath (TX) who is having their best season in history. Representing the Small Bands at this contest is the 2021 4A State Silver Medalist Canton (TX), former State Finalists Wills Point (TX) and Kaufman (TX), and an on-the-rise Sunnyvale (TX). At Region 20, bands such as BOA Finalist Waxahachie (TX) will be performing alongside historic Texas powerhouse and former BOA Grand Nationals Finalist Duncanville (TX), 5A State Finalist Highland Park (TX), and other groups such as J.J. Pearce (TX).
Moving to Northeast Texas, we have Region 4 3A on Wednesday at the Sam Parker Field in Mount Pleasant. Top 3A bands in the state in both corps and military-style will be performing here, including three-time State Champion Mineola (TX), consistent State Finalists Queen City (TX), Atlanta (TX), and Redwater (TX), along with military powerhouses White Oak (TX), New Boston (TX), and New Diana (TX). Also at this contest is Marshall (TX), a 5A band whose school was closed the week they were supposed to attend Region because of a fire on campus.
On Tuesday, three more contests are being held for Region 9 (Woodforest Bank Stadium, Shenandoah), Region 13 North (Mercer Stadium, Sugar Land), and Region 23 (Legacy Stadium, Katy). Region 9 has four BOA finalists in attendance with Klein Oak (TX), Oak Ridge (TX), College Park (TX), and #12 The Woodlands (TX) alongside Lone Star Preview finalists Klein Cain (TX), Klein Collins (TX), and Tomball Memorial (TX) as well as 2021 5A/6A UIL State Military Contest bronze medalist Cleveland (TX) and the ever-present 5A Magnolia (TX). Representing the Small Bands here are Area Finalist Splendora (TX) and Tarkington (TX). At Region 13, BOA Katy finalists and Class AAA medalists Stephen F. Austin (TX) and Foster (TX) perform alongside other Fort Bend ISD bands Dulles (TX) and Kempner (TX), as well as George Ranch (TX), known for their percussion, and up-and-coming Churchill Fulshear (TX). The Region 23 contest consists of mostly Katy ISD bands, such as BOA finalists Jordan (TX) and Seven Lakes (TX) on top of Obra D. Tompkins (TX), Cinco Ranch (TX), Katy (TX), and James E. Taylor (TX). In addition, several Houston ISD schools, such as Cesar Chavez (TX) and Westbury (TX), are fielding competitive marching bands for the first time in many years. As a result, they will be rated as Non-Varsity groups at the Region 23 contest.
Region 27 will be among the last Region contests in the state. The 3A-5A contest is held on Wednesday at the Waller ISD Stadium, and the 6A contest is not until Saturday at the Berry Center in Cypress. The first of these is a tiny contest, only consisting of six bands, most notably Brenham (TX) and Bellville (TX). The contest on Saturday hosts seventeen total 6A bands, which include BOA Finalists Bridgeland (TX), Cy-Fair (TX), and Cypress Woods (TX), alongside other strong programs such as Waller (TX), Jersey Village (TX), Cypress Falls (TX), and Stratford (TX).
Finally, we end our long trip deep in the Heart of Texas with two contests on Wednesday: Region 8 2A (Pirate Stadium, Waco) and Region 8 1A/3A (Bulldog Stadium, McGregor). At the 1A/3A contest, there are many bands to look out for, including State Finalist C.H. Yoe (TX), but also Troy (TX), Lorena (TX), Clifton (TX), and Whitney (TX), all in 3A. A special shoutout to Meridian (TX) in 1A, who will be at BOA Waco later this season as the first UIL 1A band to compete in BOA. At the 2A contest, bands such as the 2019 2A State Champion Valley Mills (TX) will be getting rated alongside Holland (TX), Centerville (TX), Rosebud-Lott (TX), and Itasca (TX).
Well, that finally covers this year's UIL Region Contests! Stay tuned later this week as we start to dig into the Area level of competition and how one qualifies for State from there.
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.
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