Pinckneyville Mardi Gras Field Show and Parade: Pinckneyville, IL:

Class 1A – Wesclin has done well this year and should be able to win this class.  Anna-Jonesboro and Sesser-Valier should battle it out for 2nd and 3rd here, respectively.

Class 2A – Massac County can take the 2A crown, with Freeburg in 2nd and Mascoutah rounding out the Top 3.

Class 3A – Mehlville plays first but should set the bar for this group and win Class 3A.  McCracken County should follow in 2nd with Belleville West snagging 3rd.

Mehlville should be named Field Grand Champion here.

Class 1A – This is the biggest class of the day.  Atwood-Hammond should be favored to win here, followed by Civic Memorial and Lawrenceville in 2nd and 3rd.

Class 2A – Only 2 bands here, and Mt. Carmel should be a clear 1st place winner with Casey-Westfield taking 2nd.

Class 3A – Salem looks to cap off a nice season with their first class championship of the year here, with Robinson right on their tails.  Taylorville will grab the 3rd place award.

Look for Salem to win their first Grand Champion award since the 1980s here.

Class 1A – Atwood Hammond should win here, followed by Blue Ridge in 2nd and Bement in 3rd.

Class 2A – This could be a very interesting class. We’ll call Mt. Zion to win here, with Paris in 2nd and Carterville in 3rd.

Class 3A – Monticello and Newton should battle it out for 1st and 2nd, and we think Monticello will prevail as the class champion.  PaxtonBuckley-Loda should take home the 3rd place award.

Class 4A – Limestone is having a great year, and was the first band out of finals at ISU in the 1A-4A group.  They should win this class  with Triad coming in 2nd and Metamora taking home 3rd.

Class 5A – O’Fallon should be able to win this one.  Look for Normal West and Bloomington to battle it out for 2nd and 3rd, but we will go with Normal West taking 2nd and staying just slightly ahead of Bloomington as they did at ISU.

Class 1A: All 4 of these bands met up at Lincoln-Way last weekend.  While none of these bands were the Champion of the class, Providence Catholic finished 2nd, Eureka 4th, Niles West 5th, and Wheaton North 6th.  We think the class will stay pretty much the same, with Providence Catholic taking this class and the automatic finals bid, Eureka 2nd, and Niles West 3rd.

Class 2A: This is a tough class to call between Victor J. Andrew and Lincoln-Way Central.  Lincoln-Way Central looks to end their season on a high note with a 3rd class title for the group, with an ISU Finals spot as well.  Victor J. Andrew is looking to continue a pretty good season here, with their eyes on BOA events in two weeks.  We really do think this class could go to either one, but we’ll give a slight nod to Victor J. Andrew, with Lincoln-Way Central close behind.  Interesting battle for third here between Stagg, Yorkville and Batavia.  Stagg had a slight margin over Yorkville at U of I, and we’ll give them the third place nod here.

Class 3A: Tough class to call here as well.  The top 3 should be Lockport Township, Plainfield North, and Morton, but it’s tough to decide who will place where.  All three groups are having a fantastic season.  We think this class will stay true to the ISU results and go to Plainfield North in 1st, Lockport Township 2nd and Morton 3rd.

Finalists: Automatic bids go to the class champions, so Providence Catholic, Victor J. Andrew, and Plainfield North.  7 spots remain.  In no order: Lincoln-Way Central, Glenbrook South, Morton, Lockport Township, United Township, Rock Island, and the 10th and final spot goes to: A.A. Stagg.

Finals:Once again, this will be a tough call for a top 3.  We expect the top 3 from AAA to contend here as well. Once again, we think it will be a close fight. Plainfield North and Lockport Township have met up at Lake Park and ISU, with Plainfield North taking 3 of the 4 matchups. We think they’ll do so again here, with Lockport and Morton close on their tails.