Every year, Illinois Marching Online makes its picks for who to watch at each contest throughout the state. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re wrong, but either way, it gets people talking! Here are this Saturday’s contests:

• Lake Park Lancer Joust (Link, Schedule (.doc), Message Board)
  This contest is filled with talented bands, a rarity this early in the season. However, in recent years, this has become the norm at Lake Park’s contest, one of the few contests in the state that has both a preliminary and finals performance. Class AAA is full of excellent bands – be sure to catch both Lincoln-Ways, Prospect, Wheaton Warrenville South, and Victor J. Andrew, but if you get the chance, go see them all! If you’re in the Chicagoland area on Saturday, this is the place to be. Picking between so many excellent bands this early in the season is very difficult, but we’re going to stick with last year’s champion. Our Pick – Prospect

• Murphysboro Drums at Appletime (Link, Schedule)
  This year’s contest features a larger pool of bands, and an extra class to boot. Waterloo HS will be looking to defend their Grand Champion title, and will likely be the Class AA winners. However, the band to see is Jefferson City, one of the best bands from the state of Missouri, who is the likely winner of AAA. Our Pick – Jefferson City

• O’Fallon Metro-East Marching Classic (Message Board)
  Information is still being gathered on this contest.

• Pekin Dragon Classic Field Show (Link, Schedule)
  Downstate’s largest contest of the week is the annual Dragon Classic in Pekin. Traditionally, this has been IVC’s show to win, and they are the defending champions, as well as a band that has much of their show ready early in the year. However, a strong United Township band will be challenging them for both the Class AAAA and Grand Champion Titles, and has the advantage of performing much later in the contest. UT did outscore IVC at last year’s ISU contest, and so could be poised to repeat that performance. Galesburg could be a surprise winner if the other bands don’t have their shows ready yet. In Class AAA, be sure to catch Morton, who has really started coming on strong in the last few years. Our Pick – IVC

• Pontiac Field Show (Link, Schedule, Message Board)
  This will certainly be a fun contest. In Class AAA, both Normal schools, IVC (fresh from their performance at Pekin), Shepard, and Wheaton North face off. Class AAAA will likely depend on the extent to which Marian Catholic has finish their show. If they haven’t gotten enough done to be competitive, this could be an interesting competition between Joliet West and Naperville Central. Our Pick – Marian Catholic