Week 4 of the Illinois season is already upon us. After this week, there will be only two weeks until ISU, and three weeks until U of I. This season is moving much too quickly. 7 shows this weekend-6 in state, and Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way North will both be traveling to Dayton, Ohio to compete in a BOA event there. Let’s get to the predictions!
Naperville Central Marching Classic: Lisle, IL
Class A: This is a tough class to call. All 4 bands have gotten off to a pretty good start to their seasons, with several class titles between them. We think Wheaton Warrenville South will take this class, with Lakes Community, D.D. Eisenhower and Sandwich all pretty close to one another. We’ll give 2nd to Lakes Community, and 3rd to D.D. Eisenhower.
Class AA: Wheeling looks to continue a great season here with another title. Batavia, after a strong 3rd place finish last weekend, will take 2nd here, and Waubonsie Valley will round out the top 3.
Class AAA: Good class here. We think Plainfield North will take their first class title of the year. Warren Township, coming off of a finals performance at Lake Park, looks to take second, and third place is up for grabs between Huntley, Romeoville and Joliet West. We’ll give a slight nod to Joliet West.
Grand Champion: This one will be close between Plainfield North and Wheeling. Wheeling, in their previous two matchups this year, has scored higher than Plainfield North, and we don’t think that will change here. We’ll give the nod to Wheeling.
Bands of America Regional Championships: Dayton, Ohio
Week two of the BOA season is here, and it brings forth the first regional of the season that a 2013 Grand National Finalist is appearing at. William Mason makes their BOA season debut here, and we think they’ll take the regional over the Centerville Jazz Band. Other finalists will include: Blue Springs South, MO, Dublin Coffman, OH, Miamisburg, OH, Bellbrook, OH, Carroll, IN, Milford, OH, Lincoln-Way North and Northmont, OH.
Wheaton North Falcon Band Festival: Wheaton, IL
Class A: Wheaton Warrenville South performs double duty here, as this will be their second performance of the day after performing at Naperville Central earlier. They’ll win here, followed by T.F. South in 2nd, and Niles West 3rd. Note: We’ve heard conflicting reports as to whether or not T.F. South will be Class A here. If not, move Niles West up to 2nd in class, and Bremen 3rd.
Class AA: This is a pretty interesting class. Munster, now a three time Indiana Class B State Finalist, makes their 2014 competitive debut here. They performed in Illinois last year at Providence, and Prospect, narrowly losing to Lincoln-Way East at Providence, and narrowly losing to Naperville North at Prospect in a standstill. This class could theoretically go to any of the top three we predict here. However, we think Munster will come out of the gate hot, narrowly defeating Lincoln-Way Central in 2nd, and Naperville North in third.
Class AAA: Carl Sandburg and Bolingbrook have already met once this year at Stagg, with Sandburg scoring eight points higher than Bolingbrook. We think Carl Sandburg will take this class, with Plainfield East 2nd and Bolingbrook third.
Grand Champion: Munster will narrowly win the title.
Danville Viking Invitational: Danville, IL
Class A: St. Joseph-Ogden looks to repeat as champions of this class with El Paso-Gridley 2nd and Blue Ridge 3rd.
Class AA: We think Charleston will take this class by a slim margin over Urbana. Hoopeston Area rounds out the top 3.
Class AAA: Only band here. Champaign Central.
Grand Champion: Champaign Central
Gateway Marching Classic: Collinsville, IL
Class A: Mehlville, MO crosses the Mississippi River and is the sole representative from Missouri to compete. Frequent participants in the Edwardsville contest, Mehlville usually performs extremely well in early competitions. Look for them to win the class and dominate in caption awards. Wesclin, coming off a strong 3rd place finish last week at Edwardsville, should be second.
1. Mehlville, MO
2. Wesclin
3. Massac County
Class AA: Marion and Carbondale go head to head for the second time in 3 weeks. Marion topped Carbondale at Murphysboro, and we look for them to repeat that performance this week. Granite City, after winning their class last week in Edwardsville and finishing second overall behind eventual Grand Champion O’Fallon, will win the class.
1. Granite City
2. Marion
3. Carbondale
Class AAA: These 3 bands are seeing each other for the 3rd consecutive week. Belleville finished 2nd in Class 4A at Edwardsville’s competition last week behind O’Fallon. Edwardsville finished second at O’Fallon’s competition two weeks ago, with Belleville taking 5th in class. In a matchup of three of the strongest programs in Southern Illinois, O’Fallon should come out victorious. and end up as Grand Champion.
1. O’Fallon
2. Edwardsville
3. Belleville East
Marching Maroons Band Festival: Robinson, IL
Class A: 1.) Salem Community 2.) Casey-Westfield 3.) Oblong
Class AA: 1.) Newton 2.) East Richland
Grand Champion: This could be interesting. Salem will give Newton a run for their money, but we think Newton will still pull out the victory.
Limestone Marching Rockets Field Competition: Bartonville, IL
1A – 1) Watseka 2.) Farmington 3.)Kewanee
2A) 1.) Macomb 2.) IVC 3.) Tri-Valley
3A – 1.) Rock Island 2.)Normal Community 3.) Dunlap
4A – 1.) Bloomington 2.) Galesburg 3.) Canton
Grand Champion: This will be close, but we think Bloomington will pull off the victory.
Mt. Zion Marching Music Games: Mt. Zion, IL
1A: 1.) Arcola 2.) Okaw Valley 3.) Maroa-Forsyth
2A: 1.) Sullivan 2.) Blue Ridge
3A: 1.) Effingham 2.) Lincoln Community 3.) Mattoon
4A + Grand Champion: Monticello
Best of luck to all bands!
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