thebashful15

Seven Lakes - wow. So impressed with how far they have come. They held their own against Hebron and Vandy.

I can already tell that JET's soloist is going to be one of my favorite soloists of this competition. She is killing it.

Call me crazy - and I understand that there is still a LOT of bands still to go - but I feel Seven Lakes has a shot at finals, definitely a placing within the top 20. Also, Vandy's music by far was my favorite thus far. That musical caption is going to be TOUGH to take from them.

Timber Creek, Oak Ridge, Seven Lakes, Coppell, and Cy Fair are all bands I would love to see make BOA SA finals. All are having terrific, some of them unprecedented, seasons. I hope at least one of them make it!

Clements always will, in my opinion, be one of those bands early in the season where you think "they have a ways to go..." and then late October strikes and that's when they hit the hardest. They were only 1 judge away from being crowned the unanimous champion, and that 1 judge's scoring was a bit suspect. Regardless, it's great seeing them advance.

Quick thoughts: I am intrigued at how Katy and Cinco Ranch scored that high above Cy Fair and Cy Falls during prelims Jersey Village managing an incredible comeback after getting 8,9,10s for their scores in prelims. For finals, I think the large gap between 5th and 6th place meant that - for the most part - the judges agreed on the top 5. However, it just is unexpected seeing Katy as the champion. Still can't believe Cy Falls didn't find a way to state after making it in '14 and '16. Jersey Village was a bit of a shocker, but still it is an amazing accomplishment for them. Cy Fair has stayed amazingly consistent and are keeping their UIL State Marching Contest streak alive. Major congratulations to Seven Lakes and Taylor. Happy those two schools finally have broke through. I have always thought those schools were on the brink, and what a time. Can't wait for state! I've always believed that it doesn't matter how you place at area, as long as you advance. SMC judges are more reliable and consistent, and a lot can be done within a week.

Seven Lakes and Cy Fair definitely set the bar high early on.

Very intrigued to see how Seven Lakes/Cy Fair/Cy falls are scored relative to Taylor/Tompkins in prelims due to their performance times. I've heard how earlier bands usually have a disadvantage - though im not sure it'll make much of a difference as to who makes finals. Finals should be fun to watch - I do agree that Cy fair and seven lakes are the top bands in this area with cy falls, taylor, and langham right behind them. It'll be fun to see if any darkhorse band emerges to take a spot from these 5 bands. Also, imagining a repeat of Area E in 2016 where nearly 40 bands made area and only 10 made finals...in this case, im very glad the areas were split.

Not sure about other awards, but Vandegrift is going to be my pick for music too

Haven't heard much about Langham either

If you had told me this 2 years or even a year ago, I wouldn't have believed it. Now, while I still find this statement hard to believe - I still think this Cy Fair, Oak Ridge, and Seven Lakes have what it takes to make finals or at least move inside the top 20.

US Bands scores are generally higher than BOA scores by about 4-5 points - shouldn't be used to cross compare points across different competitions in my opinion.

A year ago, Oak Ridge(15th) and Seven Lakes(14th) scored behind Churchill(9th) at Conroe. This year, they placed 6th and 7th respectively to Churchill's 8th place showing at Conroe. Very impressed. Harvey definitely played a part in last year's competition, but still those are massive jumps for Oak Ridge and Seven Lakes.

Excited for Cy Fair's show - been hearing great things

Waiting for BOA Conroe before I make any predictions.