October 23rd:

• University of Illinois Illini Marching Fest (Schedule)

  Our Class C/D Parade/Field Pick Pick: Atwood-Hammond – Atwood Hammond has won this event quite a few times, and has already had some successes this year.

  Our Class B Parade/Field Pick: Illinois Valley Central – IVC won last year’s B-C/D Governor’s Trophy with a strong showing in the parade, and this year it doesn’t look any different. The difference will likely come in field – last year IVC finished fourth, out of a top five pack that was only separated by 3.67 points. Last week at ISU, IVC beat last year’s field winner Macomb by almost 10 points, and traditional Class B heavyweights Dunlap and Newton haven’t had strong showings this year.

  Our Class A Parade Pick: Highland – Highland has won this contest multiple times, and is interestingly the only highly competitive band in a given class/event that does not compete in field. Galesburg was dissapointed last week at ISU, but is always a very strong parading band. Also look for Mahomet-Seymour.

  Our Class A Field Pick: Mahomet-Seymour – While the Bulldogs’s school is too big to let them win any more B-C/D Governor’s Trophies, they still can have a strong performance on the field, winning last year and tying for first the year before. Don’t count out, however, Pontiac, Washington, Waterloo, and Galesburg.

  Our Class AA Parade/Field Pick: Prospect – Prospect has the state’s second-longest major contest winning streak, only topped by Marian Catholic at ISU. And since Marian won’t be attending this year, Prospect looks to have another one locked up. Do be sure to watch Hersey and Waubonsie Valley battle it out for second in the field show (neither band is competing in the parade).

  B-C/D Grand Champion Pick: Illinois Valley Central

  A-AA Grand Champion Pick: Prospect

• Lincoln-Way Field Show (Schedule): Our Pick: Marian Catholic – After last week’s win at ISU, is there really any question? What to watch is the AA competition, and to see whether Naperville Central can knock off United Township for second place in AAA.

October 16th:

• Illinois State University Invitational Championships(Schedule)

  Our Class 1A Pick: Mater Dei – Eureka has dominated this class the last several years, but with Mater Dei in 1A, it should be a rough competition. Mater Dei looks strong with their Grand Champion win at EIU. Last year, Mater Dei beat Eureka at their only meeting.

  Our Class 2A Pick: Illinois Valley Central – With Herscher up in 3A this year, you might think that IVC would have a cakewalk, but this class is tougher this year than it has been in quite a while. IVC has history on its side, but Macomb beat IVC last year at U of I, and Geneseo and Pontiac could also make for surprises. Rumor has it that Morton is also strong this year.

  Our Class 3A Pick: Lemont – Normal West was beat last week by Herscher, but Lemont always makes a strong showing in this class. Galesburg is also a strong contender to break into the top 3.

  Our Class 4A Pick: Marian Catholic – Marian has the state’s longest major-contest winning streak, at 23 years, and a record 7 BOA National Championships. The real question is who will get second and third: good picks would be Normal Community and Rock Island.

  Our Class 5A Pick: Wheaton Warrenville South – WWS surprised us last year when they won this class, but they’ve already placed strongly at BOA Regionals this year. With Andrew up in 6A, the strongest competition comes from United Township.

  Our Class 6A Pick: Lake Park – Lake Park is a perennial powerhouse at ISU, and has already beat the Lincoln-Ways and Andrew this year. Look for a possible reversal of LW Central over East, and for up to half of the finalists to come from this class.

  Grand Champion Pick: Marian Catholic

• Effingham Marching Hearts Competition (Schedule): Our Pick: Mahomet-Seymour – The Champaign-area’s strongest band program is looking to win this contest with their Carmina Burana show, but don’t discount Newton in the running of things.

October 9th:

• A.A. Stagg Jamboree (Schedule): Our Pick: Prospect – After cancelling their own contest, the Marching Knights are attending the Stagg contest. They look to be pretty dominant, and perform second-to-last in Class AAA.
• Olympia Parade and Field (Schedule): Our Pick: Dunlap – If Dunlap has their show clean enough, they may walk away with this one. If not, look out for Eurkea. Normal West, Washington, and Herscher have chances in the field show, but are not competing in the parade.
• Eastern Illinois University (Schedule): Our Pick: Granite City – Our staff is not very confident in this pick, but it really could go all the way down to Class 2A with Mater Dei and Newton. Granite City has the advantage of being in the largest class, and of performing last.

We are not making a prediction for Alton (Schedule – too many bands from Missouri that we don’t know.) Also, we did not get contest lists for Metamora and SIU. The Prospect competition was cancelled.

October 2nd:

• Chicagoland Marching Band Fest (Schedule): Our Pick: Lake Park – Perennial powerhouse Lake Park looks to win Grand Champion for the first time this year. Possible upset could come from Lincoln-Way Central, but that remains to be seen.
• Phantom Regiment Marching Fest (Schedule): Our Pick: Lincoln-Way East – Last year this contest did not give out placings. This year, however, our sources tell us that there will be a competitive portion. LWE looks to be a clear winner, though one should never discount IVC.
• Wheaton North Falcon Band Fest (Schedule): Our Pick: Herscher – Herscher may be the strongest competitor in the field. The question is whether their show is competitive enough to win out of a lower class. Otherwise, look for Downers Grove South
• Western IL University Marching Classic (Schedule): Our Pick: Rock Island – This could very much be a toss up contest. Rock Island has the advantage of performing last, and in the largest class, but as we saw last year, that isn’t everything. Geneseo looks the strongest in AAA, and could end up overtaking RI in the end. Dunlap could be a competitior, but they seemed to struggle last week at Washington.

September 25th:

• Marching Mustang Music Bowl (Schedule): Our Pick: Prospect – Marian Catholic has won this contest several years, but is not on the schedule to attend this year. Prospect is coming off of a win at the Lancer Joust last week, and many viewers of the contest thought they were ahead of Lake Park. We’ll see if they can hold off the Lancers and Lincoln-Way Central at the Downers Grove South Stadium.
• Washington Panther Classic (Schedule): Our Pick: Illinois Valley Central – The Grey Ghosts won this event in 2002, and are coming off a strong performance at Pekin. Other contenders include Dunlap (2001 champ), Normal (2000 champ), and possibly even Galesburg. Joliet West will be a strong contender on the field, but we are told that they will not be competing in the Parade (50% of the overall score).
• Mt. Zion, Geneseo, Newton, and Danville: No information available

September 18th:

• Lake Park Lancer Joust (Schedule): Our Pick: Lake Park – Lake Park has won their own contest quite a few times, including when we correctly picked them to win last year. But this year’s contest looks to be a really great one, with Prospect, Lincoln-Way Central and East, Naperville North, and Victor J. Andrew all attending as well. It’s rare that we see so many great bands at a contest this early in the season, so if you have the chance, be sure to check this one out!!!
• Pekin Dragon Classic: Our Pick: Illinois Valley Central – In recent memory, IVC has only missed winning the Pekin competition once (in 2001, when they didn’t attend!). The Grey Ghosts won this contest the last 2 years, and look solid to win it again.
• O’Fallon Metro East Competition (Schedule): Our Pick: Francis Howell North (MO) – Francis Howell took this one from Jefferson City last year, and those should be the two major competitors for the title this year as well. Other bands to watch (though, not necessarily for the Grand Champion Title) are Alton, Edwardsville, Mater Dei, and Newton.
• Pontiac Field Show: Our Pick: N/A – No information available