Well fans, yet another week of fine Marching is here! Last week there were 10 shows where Illinois bands participated in. One was a BOA event that we did not predict for and also we did not have the schedule in time to predict for Super City Sounds. So with that here are our prediction statistics for the eight shows we did predict for. We were 20 for 26 in class predictions and 8 for 9 in Grand Champion predictions. Our total for week 2 is at 28 for 37, which brings our over all total for the season to 31 for 43 Class winners, 9 for 14 Grand Champion winners and 40 for 57 total.
It was nice to see the rain hold out for us this past week, and all of those show were a success. Now it is time to buckle down and get ready for week 3. Lets hope we can keep our momentum going with our predictions success. And with that, this weeks predictions:
Maple Leaf Classic:Geneseo, IL
Class A:El-Paso-Gridley has had a fantastic start to their season. We see no reason why that won’t keep up here. Our pick: El-Paso-Gridley
Class AA: Metamora won Class A here last year. We believe that moving up a class this year won’t hurt them. Pekin could give them a run for their money, but our pick goes to Metamora.
Class AAA: This class could go one of three ways: Davenport Central, Galesburg, or Normal Community. Look for Normal Community to win, with Galesburg closely behind. Our pick: Normal Community
Grand Champion: Winning class AAA will give Normal Community the Grand Championship here. Our pick: Normal Community
WIU Marching Band Classic: Macomb, IL
The WIU show runs two divisions, the small school and large school. A Grand Champion is awarded in both divisions.
Class A: Only 1 band in A, Our Pick: Weathersfield
Class AA: Macomb is definitely the strongest band in class 2A. They had a strong showing at Pekin, just 5 points behind Morton. They should have no problem winning 2A. Our Pick: Macomb
Small School GC: Macomb will have the strongest performance to take the small school division. Our Pick: Macmob
Class AAA: Without knowing much about either band in class 3A, we went with the IL band. Our Pick: Jacksonville
Class AAAA: The top two spots in class 4A will be a fight between Alan B. Shepard and Limestone. Alan B. Shepard should have the slight upper hand. Our Pick: Alan B. Shepard
Large School GC: Alan B. Shepard will have the performance to beat here for large school GC. Our Pick: Alan B. Shepard
Sparta Rotary Homefest:Sparta, IL (Field predictions only).
Class A: Johnston City already has one first place class finish this year. This will be their second. Our pick: Johnston City
Class AA: This class could go to any of the three bands competing. However, we’re going to go with the band that has the most past success. Our pick: Centralia
Class AAA: This is also a fairly open class. Carbondale, Belleville West, and Edwardsville all have a decent shot at winning. However, our pick goes to: Edwardsville.
Grand Champion: Winning AAA field and parade will give Edwardsville the Grand Champion trophy as well. Our pick: Edwardsville
St. Rita Mustang Stampede:Chicago, IL
Class A: While we haven’t had a chance to see many of the bands, I would go with what’s worked in the past. Our Pick: Grant Community
Class AA: We had a chance to see a couple of the bands that will be here, and I feel it will come down to Wheeling or Romeoville. Our Pick: Wheeling
Class AAA: At the Wheeling show, we had a chance to see Glenbrook South, and we enjoy what they have going on. We believe that this show could go one of two ways: One staff member says Glenbrook South, however, the majority says Oak Creek (Wisconsin)
Grand Champion: The winner of AAA will win this class. Our pick: Oak Creek
Lincoln-Way Invitational:New Lenox, IL
Well, here it is again, another show with an ISU looking lineup. With LWE and LWC putting on exhibitions, this will be a great show to see.
Class A Even though they were edged out last week at Wheaton North, Wheaton Warrenville South will bounce back here, leading to Our Pick: Wheaton Warrenville South
Class AA This will be a tough class. Wheeling has a strong program, as well as Morton and VJA. Lockport is unseen as of yet this season, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. This is another split decision. One staff member says Victor J. Andrew, and the majority says Morton. Our Pick: Morton
Class AAA Again, with limited knowledge of Oak Creek, we will go with what we know here, and choose Naperville North to repeat after taking the Wheaton North show last week. With Lockport and NN both in 6A this year at ISU, this could be a measuring stick to see who will most likely take the 3rd place spot behind Lake Park and Lincoln-Way Central this year… Considering their classes at this competition, Our Pick: Naperville North
Grand Champion: The winner of this competition could very well go one of two ways: Class AA (Morton), or Class AAA (Naperville North). We’re going to stick with the latter. Our pick: Naperville North.