Saturday at the 2018 Bands of America Jacksonville Regional Championship, Harrison (GA) snapped Nation Ford’s (SC) two-year win streak at the Alabama event, topping a field of 21 bands at Jacksonville State University with a score of 81.950.

After having finished second in the prelims of last year’s event — the finals were rained out — Harrison earned a commanding lead over the field in both the prelims and finals rounds of Saturday’s competition. 

When all was said and done, Harrison held a two-point lead over its next closest competitor, fellow Georgia band Kennesaw Mountain. 

In terms of caption winners, Harrison earned top marks in general effect by more than two points, while tying Nation Ford for first in music performance. Nation Ford also earned the top visual performance score. 

Kennesaw Mountain at the 2018 BOA - Alabama Regional

Kennesaw Mountain (79.800) held slim advantages over the defending regional champions, third-place Nation Ford (79.650) in both rounds. Despite trailing Nation Ford in both visual performance and music performance captions — not to mentioning incurring a 0.3-point penalty, a 1.2-point lead in general effect made the difference for Kennesaw Mountain. 

Two Mississippi schools took fourth and fifth place, as Hernando (76.250) edged out Clinton (75.700) — the event’s AA class winner — thanks to strong visual scores across the board. Tennessee-based Father Ryan earned sixth with a score of 72.600.

The race between 7th and 10th places was by far the closest, as 0.85 points separated four bands. DeSoto Central (MS) topped the group with a tally of 71.250, with Hoover (AL) edging Hillgrove (GA) for 8th with scores of 70.800 and 70.650 respectively. Hoover also earned first place in its AAAA classification. 

Pelham (AL) wasn’t far behind the pack in 10th, earning a 70.400 while scoring as high as 7th in the visual performance caption, over DeSoto Central, Hoover and Hillgrove.

Rounding out the 11 finalists, Laurens District 55 (SC) took 11th with a score of 68.750, dropping one spot and over three points in score after having edged out Pelham in the event’s prelims round. 

In prelims, Pelham fended off 12th-place McGavock (TN) by just over a point to earn the last finalist spot. A tight race also unfolded between 13th-place Walton (GA) and Collierville (TN), which were separated by just 0.15. 

15h-place East Coweta (GA) led by just over half a point over 16th-place Allatoona (GA), which topped 17th-place Boiling Springs (SC) by just 0.15 points. Seymour (TN) and West Harrison (MS), took 18th and 19th respectively. 

Saturday’s class A winner, Wesleyan School (GA) took 20th place with a score of 60.800, while Leeds (AL) rounded out the competition in 21st with a score of 54.000.

Nation Ford at the 2018 BOA - Alabama Regional