JT2002

Any Illinois bands?

See, at least these judges get things right every year. I'd go as far to say this competition is superior to ISU

Yes! Pretty much all of 5A went out and killed it, 6A was strong yet dissapointing. 3A and 4A were more competitive than usual I think. 1A and 2A also had some good stuff going on.

They also should group bands by their actual size and not school size. Like Romeoville should be in like 5A or 6A, while Warren should be in 4A. Idk, I think bands would have different success if they were organized a bit differently and performance times were different.

To be honest, there were a lot of surprises in prelims. Like Downers Grove south got 15th out of 5A/6A in music individual, and what was Huntley's penalty? I don't agree with Plainfield North's visual scores. And how in the hell did Warren come up 7th? I know they've beaten some of those bands like Lake Park and Downers Grove South in the past.

^^I agree Marian Catholic has a legitimate chance of winning it all this year, but I just don't see how Warren isn't even the top 5.

Another bit of commentary is that I'm surprised and proud to think about how much growth has gone on these last few years that groups like Downers Grove South have gotten so much better and with Lincoln-way joining forces. And then you think of the fact that last time Warren went to ISU they got dead last in their division, and now some are predicting they get 3rd or 4th overall. I love how this show gets more and more competitive every year, and that's without O'fallon

^The only group that could upset Lincoln-Way is Marian Catholic. Maybe Lockport, they've adjustments to make. Warren doesn't rehearse enough. Prospect's show is clean, but not as interesting/difficult

Weather is looking really nice for Saturday!

I'm going with my gut on this one. (makes finals) 2A: (Morton), Providence Valley, Lasalle-Peru 1A: (IVC), University, Eureka 4A: (Romeoville), (John Hersey), (Batavia) 3A: (Marian Catholic), (Galesburg), Limestone 6A: (Lincoln-Way), (Lockport), (Warren), (Downers Grove South), (Joliet West) 5A: (Prospect), (Plainfield North), Viccy J Finals: 1. Lincoln-Way 2. Marian Catholic 3. Warren Township 4. Lockport Township 5. Prospect 6. John Hersey 7. Romeoville 8. Morton 9. Downers Grove South 10. Plainfield North 11. Galesburg 12. Joliet West 13. Batavia 14. IVC

The recap was removed Edit: a new (corrected) one is up.

I can not find a score recap, or the scores in general, but I do know the results for 3A/4A went: 3A 7. Glenbrook South 6. Kaneland 5. Lemont 4. Dekalb 3. Waubonsie Valley (by a 4 point margin) 2. Warren Township (by a .5 point margin) 1. Pike (score was like a 75 from what I remember) 4A 5. Neuqua Valley (their score was below Warren and Pike) 4. Oak Creek (had a higher score than Pike, but that's comparing classes without a finals) 3. Joliet West (over Oak Creek by .05) 2. John Hersey (a couple points between them and Joliet) 1. Prospect (I believe they broke 78) Again, this is just from my memory of last night, I apologize if there are errors, didn't really want to post this yet, but no one's posted the actual scores.

I did one of these for NIU, but never got around to the morning competition just a few miles away. So here we go. I will go in order of classes as they perform, just as a heads up. I also wouldn't be surprised if the forecasted showers effect the competition. Last note, this competition has grown a lot and it's only in its second year (while it isn't totally competitive), so good on Dekalb. 2A: Only 2 bands here, and both are going to NIU later in the evening (that's why they perform 1st I guess). Some BDs are crazy, but ok: 1. Grant Community (If they don't get the upper hand here, they will at NIU. They also have a better show I believe in general). 2. Niles West (scores will be close here, they have good Percussion) 3A is more local (so I don't know much of anything about them), but has enough bands to fill a podium: 1. Rochelle (these guys get around the circuit a bit at least) 2. Kaneland (cool show concept, crowd appeal last year, sounds good to me) 3. Sycamore (they're good in a parade, but this is their only competition of the year. hard to judge, but could swap places with Kaneland) 1A has some more recognizable names, but not super competitive: 1. Sandwich (they are the most competitive of the bunch and could run away with the trophy) 2. Oregon (these boyos get better every year, even though this will be their only competition. Locked in for 2nd probably) 3. Richmond-Burton (they usually place ok at U of I, I think they might get close to Oregon) 4. Genoa-Kingston (they've beaten Taft. I like "The Marching Cogs", it rolls off the tongue) 4A has a lot of cardinal directions: 1. Plainfield South (not as good as North or Central, but they're better than East) 2. Oswego East (not as good as Oswego, but they'll be strong coming out of Pontiac) 3. Plainfield East (a hard sell after a poor outing at Benedictine, but they're better than Hinsdale South) 4. Hinsdale South (yeah, only competition of the year for them I think. They're a good looking group though, Hornets are cool). Feel free to add or dispute these predictions, or yell about NIU too

High School Marching converges this weekend in Dekalb (at Dekalb HS and NIU but separate competitions) while some really fantastic bands are out at BOA because their school boards care about them. I digress, on with the predictions for the 2019 Red & Black Fall Classic; I call it mini-state. This year is a very competitive schedule, and one of the best there's been in recent years. 1A has a nice list of qualifiers, but the results will probably be: 1. Wheaton Warrenville South (they've had great performances at Viccy J and Benedictine this year; also with Naperville North not returning, this may finally be their chance) 2. HD Jacobs (close finish at the Lancer Joust this year, there maybe some separation between them and wheaton) 3. Glenbrook North (their 007 show is pretty fun to watch) 4. Grant Community (they already beat up Marengo, they'll do it again) 5. Niles West (they have a good percussion section, I still find it stupid that their is no Auxillary or Percussion awards at this comp) 6. Rockford (It will be close between them and Marengo) 7. Marengo (Arrrrr Matey, here be pirates) 2A is a bit smaller, but will be interesting: 1. Batavia (watch out, after a hot start to their season, the scores between them and 2nd maybe separated by less than a point) 2. AA Stagg (After that upset at Viccy J, I'm questioning if there is a light at the end of the tunnel (pun intended); there will also be a battle of the color guard's as their's is almost equal to Batavia) 3. Argo (the argonauts will also be very close to the top two as far as scores go) 4. Round Lake (while this is a small class, placement will be tight too) 3A makes me dislike how NIU breaks the classes up by band size, because there are a few bands here that usually would be in the top class: 1. Warren (Very strong start to the season and fresh off a practically undefeated season last year, their closest competition here are the invaders from Indy) 2. Pike (Indiana is just Illinois without Chicagoland. Also, it's Red Devils vs. Blue Devils. It will be very very very close, there are a lot of technical differences between the two) 3. Lemont (they did good at Benedictine, but there will be much separation between them and the top 2) 4. Glenbrook South (really liked their show this year) 5. Dekalb (after a good warm up after hosting their own competition, these guys will be hot and ready to perform) 6. Waubonsie (they got 1st in their class of 1 last week, that's a W in my book) 7. Kaneland (last season was a bit disappointing, but they did win crowd appeal at ISU) 4A is well sized and competitive this season: 1. Prospect (Warren gave them a run for their money at Wheeling, but they won't be competing against them this time. They drum majors are perfection) 2. John Hersey (this band usually end their season well, but they are not ready to compete with Prospect yet, there will be a larger point spread here) 3. Neuqua Valley (they will be riding Hersey's coat tails) 4. Oak Creek (ah yes, poor man's Greendale. Don't be fooled though, these Cheese heads are unpredictable, they'll be close to #2 and #3 points wise) 5. Joliet West (kind of the odd man out here, but they could also be in the mix for a spot on the podium. All in all, it's hard to pick a most competitive class. Other opinions are welcome, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone.