By David J. Lee, Staff Writer ~~ Odessa American, October 23, 2005
Bands large and small from far and wide marched, high stepped and made formations Saturday as they performed in the 2005 University Interscholastic League Region VI Marching Contest.
The focus Saturday afternoon was on the small schools, which had a chance to continue on to area, and eventually state, this year. The years the bands can go to state rotates — A, 2A and 4A one year and 3A and 5A the next.
“We’re very, very excited about our Division 1 today,” Jim Rhodes, Forsan head band director, said. “It’s nice to have a great performance and get rewarded for it.”
In the Class A division, Forsan and McCamey, will advance to the area competition next Saturday in Plainview.
Forsan, which was a 2A school two years ago, finished fourth in the state then.
“We’ve got a little experience, and we hope that helps,” Rhodes said.
After rousing their hometown fans in high school displays of sight and sound aimed at the west side of Ratliff Stadium, URL judges narrowed it down to two bands from each division to go on to area. Along with Forsan and McCamey, Crane, Kermit, Big Spring and Andrews will advance in competition.
The 4A schools go Saturday to Lubbock to compete in area. The 2A schools will also play in Plainview.
Kermit High School broke a years-long streak of Division 3 ratings Saturday. Not only that, the band makes it first debut in the area competition in many years.
“Man, it’s awesome!” Braulio Vargas, a Kermit senior, said. “I’m so happy. We broke our streak of 3s, we got a 2, and we’re going to area! We could even go to state.”
Some of Kermit’s competition in area, Crane scored a Division 1 rating Saturday.
“I’m very proud of the kids,” Head Band Director Daniel Todd said. “They worked really hard. They looked really good. When you work that hard, it shows.”
Andrew Murguia, a Crane junior, was one of the students in the band that placed fifth in state two years ago.
“I think we did really well today — better than we did last year,” he said. “I like the difficulty and the way the sets look when we’ve pulled them off well.”
Monahans Walker Junior High School was another band that scored a Division 1 rating. The seventh- and eighth-grade students performed a fairly complex show on Saturday.
“I think we did really well,” Junior High Band Director Gerardo Loya said. “They performed at the varsity football game last night, and they did well there, too.”
While the junior high didn’t have a chance to advance, Loya said having them compete helps prepare the students for real competition later.
“It’s been a tradition in Monahans, and it’s something we, the band director, believe in,” he said. “It’s really good for our program, and that’s why we do it.”
Todd said competition, like the one Saturday at Ratliff, is a good motivator to keep the students steadily improving themselves.
“It gives them a carrot to go for,” he said. “It lets them see the direct results of their work.”