We have a busy weekend this week prior to ISU.  2 BOA super regional championships, Normal West competing at a local show in Indiana, and a few shows closer to home.  Let’s get right to the predictions!

We are not going to predict the Olympian Marching Band Festival in Olympia Fields due to not having knowledge about most of the bands.  We’ve only seen results from Crete-Monee and T.F. North, and we don’t feel that’s enough.  Also, we’re only going to predict a Grand Champion for the Quincy Octoberfest Parade and Field Show, as we do not have classes for the bands.

That being said, let’s get to the predictions!




SIU Music & Motion: Carbondale, IL

Class C – Salem and Wesclin are always very close and it will be a close battle for first.  However, SIU includes guard and percussion scores in the final score.  We feel this will give Salem the edge and they will take first here, followed by Wesclin in 2nd and Anna-Jonesboro in 3rd.

Class B – DeSoto, MO should handle this class pretty easily over Massac County and win.  Massac County, being the only other school in the class, will take 2nd.

Class 1A – Carbondale and Marion will be another close call.  Carbondale has the win in their only head to head matchup this year, so we will give them the nod with Marion in 2nd and Hillsboro, MO in 3rd.

Carbondale will win Grand Champion.  Don’t be surprised if the Overall Grand Champion caption awards don’t all come from 1A.




Mahomet-Seymour Marching Bulldog Festival: Mahomet, IL

1A: ROWVA takes first place followed by LeRoy and Dwight in second and third, respectively.

2A: U-High gets their second win of the season. Prairie Central builds off a successful performance last week and takes second. Third place will be close between Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Unity (Tolono). We’ll give that nod to PBL.

3A: A very close class here. We give the edge to Romeoville followed closely by Minooka. Third place will be tight between Normal Community and Naperville Central, but we’ll go with Naperville Central.  Look for Stagg to take home their 3rd auxiliary caption of the season.

GC: Romeoville




Newton Marching Eagles Band Classic: Newton, IL

1A: We think that Bement will narrowly beat Oblong here with Okaw Valley in third.

2A: Vandalia gets first place followed by a close battle between Casey-Westfield and then Lawrenceville in third.

3A: Mater Dei should be able to narrowly beat out Robinson again this season. Look for Carterville to take third.

4A: Edwardsville should get a first here with Highland in second. We believe that Charleston will eke out a third place finish.

GC: Edwardsville




Effingham Marching Hearts Invitational: Effingham, IL

Class 1A – This class will be tough, but Atwood-Hammond should come out victorious followed by Sangamon Valley in 2nd and Bement in 3rd.  Don’t be surprised if you see an alternate finish Saturday night within this Top 3 at Newton-it will be that close we think.

Class 2A – Casey-Westfield should win here, followed by Sullivan and Georgetown-Ridge Farm in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Class 3A – This will be a Mater Dei/Newton showdown.  Newton is having a great year and we think they will continue that with a win here.  Mater Dei should be not too far behind in 2nd.  We think Carterville will follow behind in 3rd, but don’t be surprised to see Vandalia in that 3rd spot either.

Class 4A – Murphysboro is only in their 2nd competitive performance with this show, but they are prepping for Grand Nationals.  We feel they will be a lot cleaner and will take this class.  Salem should continue their success from SIU earlier in the day and grab 2nd, while Mt. Zion will round out the Top 3.

Class 5A – Washington will be a the winner here, followed by Highland in 2nd and Mattoon in 3rd, and don’t be surprised to see a bit of a gap in the scores.

Class 6A – Edwardsville will win this class followed by Belleville West in 2nd and Danville in 3rd.

Grand Champion:  Could be close but we think Edwardsville will pull it out and take home the big prize.




Quincy Octoberfest Parade and Field Show: Quincy, IL

As stated earlier, we do not know any classes for this competition.  We think if scores are just based on field show, Granite City will come home as champion.  If it is based on both field and parade, look for Troy Buchanan, MO to repeat here.




Sandwich MusicFest: Sandwich, IL (Sunday, October 21st)

Class B: Tough class to predict here.  We think Rantoul Township will win the class, followed by a good fight between Dwight and Peotone.  We’ll give the nod to Dwight in 2nd, and Peotone 3rd.

Class A: We think Evergreen Park will take their 2nd class title of the year, with Marengo in 2nd, and Oregon in 3rd.

Class 2A: An extremely difficult class to call.  We will give Rolling Meadows the nod, with La-Salle Peru in 2nd, and Yorkville, based off of good showings at U of I and Naperville Central.  T.F. South could slide in and take out Yorkville.

Class 3A: Good class here-and a tough call between Grayslake North and DeKalb for Class Champion.  DeKalb had a good showing against Wheeling and Oak Creek, WI a few weeks back, and Grayslake North did not fare as well at their only competition so far.  We’ll call it a tossup-and give the ever so slight nod to DeKalb.  Grayslake North 2nd, Hampshire 3rd.

Grand Champion:Combining the parade and field totals here, we think Rolling Meadows will take the title of Grand Champion.




Warrior Pride Invitational: Danville, IN

Class D: Good class here with a Grand National semifinalist/ISSMA State Finalist, and 2 2012 Semi-State Finalists here.  We think Monrovia will take this class, with Crawford County 2nd, and Henryville taking 3rd.

Class C: Forest Park has elected to play up a class here against last year’s 2nd place and 5th place Class C State Finalists.  Forest Park is no slouch either, having picked up a 2nd place finish last year in Class D.  This will be a fun battle between Forest Park, Beech Grove, and Edgewood. Another toss up that could lead to any of these bands winning the class.  We think Beech Grove will win the class, with Forest Park 2nd, and Edgewood 3rd.

Class B: Good class here.  Munster vaulted to 10th place in Class B last year-their first time ever in ISSMA State Finals.  They seem primed to do that again this year, and they have ventured into BOA events for the first time as well, placing a respectable 12th at BOA Pontiac.  It will once again be close, but we think Normal West will eke out a close victory, with Munster close behind, and East Noble in 3rd.

Class A: Carroll is a band on the rise with a new director and a fresh spring in their step.  Plymouth has elected to play up a class here.  They were a 2010 ISSMA Class C Finalist.  We think Carroll will win this class, with Plymouth a bit behind.




Bands of America Super Regional Championships: St. Louis, MO
This show looks a bit different this year with no Marian Catholic and no Broken Arrow.  However, L.D. Bell, TX is attending, and that’s more than enough to replace both Marian and Broken Arrow.  We think the top 3 here will be L.D. Bell in first, Union, OK 2nd, and Owasso, OK 3rd.  We think Prospect and O’Fallon both have very good shots at the top 5 as well, along with Blue Springs, MO.  Our 14 finalists are: Irondale, MN, Lake Park, Richland, TX, Rosemount, MN, Anderson, TX, Eden Prairie, MN, Blue Springs, MO, L.D. Bell TX, O’Fallon, Prospect, Union, OK, Owasso, OK, and we’re going to be homers here and predict Lockport and Morton making finals.  Other bands that could have a shot at finals include Rockwood Summit, MO, Birdville, TX (the most consistently inconsistent BOA band), Oakville, MO, Rampart, CO, and Plainfield North.  We think Illinois Valley Central or Monticello could win Class A as well.




Bands of America Super Regional Championships: Indianapolis, IN
The Indianapolis regional is a 14 band Super Regional for the first time, and it is out of the customary week before Grand Nationals for the first time since 2007 to accommodate a farmer’s convention in the normal weekend that is ISSMA State Finals.  So, State Finals moves to the week before Grand Nationals for this year only.  That being said, this really is an unpredictable regional.  We can see several bands winning, or we can see the same bands placing rather low here.  We still have to go with the hot hand and give Avon their 4th consecutive Indianapolis regional championship.  We think Lawrence Central will be close behind in 2nd, Marian Catholic 3rd, Carmel 4th, and Plymouth-Canton Educational Park in 5th.

Our 14 finalists are: Avon, IN, Lawrence Central, IN, Marian Catholic, Carmel, IN, Lake Central, IN, Plymouth-Canton, MI,  Greenwood, IN, Ben Davis, IN, Center Grove, IN, Concord, IN, Centerville, OH, Lawrence North, IN, Lincoln-Way East, and Castle, IN.  Other possible bands in finals include: Downers Grove South, Victor J. Andrew, Penn, IN, Westminster, MD, Timber Creek, FL, Munster, IN, Marvin Ridge, NC, Western, IN, and Columbus North, IN.




Best of luck to all bands this weekend!

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