The band placed 3rd in the UIL Area marching band contest on October 27 at Woodforest Bank stadium.

The UIL Area marching band competition is a contest meant to show skill and allow pre-qualified bands to compete and move onto state level competitions. Only ten bands can move onto finals.

“I’ve always known we were gonna make it past prelims even before we made it to Area,” Junior trombone Mark DeVault said.

The band stepped onto the field at 1:36 pm to perform for the preliminary round, and from the crowd’s reaction, it seemed to be an almost flawless performance.

“I’m gonna be honest, that was really, really good,” head band director Jeffrey Gorring said.

Eight hours later, it was time for the final performance. Stepping on to the field, it had all come down to this moment. Making state marching contest all depended on this performance.

“This was definitely one of our most important competitions so I was really nervous,” Freshman flute Paisley Schellberg said.

Retreat for final awards came out shortly after the performance, and the band lined up waiting to see if they had made state or not. Only the top 5 advanced to the state marching contest. 

The announcer announced  place by place starting at tenth, and then came the 6th place announcement. Everyone held their breath waiting to see if they had made state or not. 

“And sixth place goes to… Tomball Memorial High School,” the announcer said.

That had meant the band had made it to state, and placed 3rd overall for finals.

“I was scared for the result but we worked hard and made it all worth it,” Sophomore clarinet Shakira Brown said.