UIL 6A Area Preview and Predictions

While 2A and 4A only have five Areas each, 6A alone has nearly twice as many with nine Areas, thanks to the sheer number of bands in the class and how many of them are capable of getting a 1 at Region. In fact, out of the 238 6A bands who signed up for Region at the varsity level, only 16 failed to get a 1. 

UIL 2A/4A Area Preview

Without further ado, let’s hop right into the preview and predictions. Select experts and community members made these predictions, and the results are listed in alphabetical order with the exception of the State Alternate who is listed separately. The “Other Contenders” listed (also in alphabetical order) are three programs selected based on a combination of votes received and my personal predictions to fill in what’s left.

2022 Week 6 GEM Top 12 Regional Polls

Area A - Ratliff Stadium, Odessa

• Eastlake (TX)

• Midland (TX)

• Permian (TX)

State Alternate: Frenship (TX)

Other Contenders: Coronado (TX), Pebble Hills (TX), San Angelo Central (TX).

Area B - Pennington Field, Bedford

• #19 Coppell (TX)

• Duncanville (TX)

• Keller (TX)

• L.D. Bell (TX)

• Timber Creek (TX)

• Waxahachie (TX)

State Alternate: Carroll (TX)

Other programs worth mentioning include: James Martin (TX), Lake Highlands (TX), Lake Ridge (TX)

Area C - Mesquite Memorial Stadium, Mesquite

• #6 Flower Mound (TX)

• #1 Hebron (TX)

• #12 Marcus (TX)

• Prosper (TX)

• Wylie (TX)

• Wylie East (TX)

State Alternate: Rock Hill (TX)

Other Contenders: McKinney Boyd (TX), Rockwall (TX), Sachse (TX)

Area D - Heroes Stadium, San Antonio

• #7 Cedar Ridge (TX)

• #11 Claudia Taylor Johnson (TX)

• James Bowie (TX)

• #10 Ronald Reagan (TX)

• #21 Round Rock (TX)

State Alternate: Westwood (TX)

Other Contenders: Dripping Springs (TX), McNeil (TX), Winston Churchill (TX)

Area E - Challenger Columbia Stadium, Webster

• Clear Brook (TX)

• Dawson (TX)

• Dickinson (TX)

• Pearland (TX)

• Stephen F. Austin (TX)

State Alternate: Brazoswood (TX)

Other Contenders: Clear Lake (TX), Clements (TX), Ridge Point (TX)

Area F - Galena Park ISD Stadium, Houston

• College Park (TX)

• Klein Oak (TX)

• Oak Ridge (TX)

• The Woodlands (TX)

• Tomball Memorial (TX)

State Alternate: Klein Cain (TX)

Other Contenders: Klein Collins (TX), North Shore (TX), Spring (TX)

Area G - PSJA ISD Stadium, Pharr

• Harlingen (TX)

• John B. Alexander (TX)

• United (TX)

State Alternate: Homer Hanna (TX)

Other Contenders: Los Fresnos (TX), PSJA (TX), Weslaco (TX)

Area H - D.W. Rutledge Stadium, Converse

• Lake Travis (TX)

• #5 Vandegrift (TX)

• #15 Vista Ridge (TX)

• Westlake (TX)

State Alternate: Louis D. Brandeis (TX)

Other Contenders: Del Rio (TX), Sandra Day O’Connor (TX), Tom C. Clark (TX)

Area I - Berry Center, Cypress

• Bridgeland (TX)

• Cy-Fair (TX)

• Cypress Woods (TX)

• Jordan (TX)

• Seven Lakes (TX)

State Alternate: Obra D. Tompkins (TX)

Other Contenders: Cinco Ranch (TX), James E. Taylor (TX), Jersey Village (TX)

2022 Week 6 GEM Top 25 Poll

So at the end of the day, 6A will be advancing 42 bands to the UIL State Marching Contest which is more than 4A and 2A combined. Passing the 40 band threshold also means that a total of 14 bands will advance to State Finals. Before this year, the most number of bands that have advanced to State Finals at any level was 12. With a historic contest on our hands, we will be keeping a close eye on how these shows develop throughout the day. Stay tuned next week for the State Marching Contest Explanation and Preview articles!

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.