The state of Texas is making headlines once again.

In the fourth week of 2022 Bands of America events — and second in the month of October — a pair of intriguing finishes at Lone Star State events highlighted a full weekend of BOA competition.

Here’s the rundown:

DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX | State champs make a statement 

It’s not much of a stretch to say Hebron High School was one of the nation’s most talked about marching bands last fall. 

Hebron didn’t compete at Grand Nationals, but wth a widely-regarded captivating production and a wealth of competitive success, the band made plenty of headlines on its way to a UIL Class 6A state title.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Hebron is back. 

Just eight days into October, Hebron made its 2022 BOA debut with an explosive score of 89.600 and took first place at the Dallas/Fort Worth regional championship. Hebron won all captions, a Class AAAA title, and held a lead of 1.6 points over the field. 

All of that is outstanding. But so were the pair of high scores that followed; Flower Mound, a perennial top contender, posted an elite score for early October of 88.000, earning second place. Rounding out the top three, Marcus put up an 86.050.

For statistical reference on those impressive top scores, the winning score at the same event — held on the same weekend — last year was 87.000. The first 90 of the 2021 BOA season wasn’t tallied until two weeks later. 

Races got closer further down the leaderboard; the day’s fourth and fifth place bands — Coppell (84.325) and Wakeland (84.250) — were separated by just 0.125. Wakeland also earned a Class AAA victory, while Class AA went to China Spring High School and Class A went to Krum High School.

MIDLAND, TX | Johnson wins big 

Scores were a decent bit lower on the west side of the state, but the West Texas Regional Championship saw plenty of interesting results.

Moe & Gene Johnson High School was the day’s big winner, notching a top score of 83.950 which led the way by more than two points while also winning Class AAAA. Visual and General Effect awards went to Moe & Gene Johnson as well, while Music went to Braswell (4th, 79.050).

Already a popular name on early-season BOA recaps, New Mexico’s Clovis High School put up another impressive showing. Having won regionals in Las Cruces, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona, Clovis traveled east to Texas and took second, earring a score of 80.725. 

Clovis earned a Class AAA title and edged out Sachse (3rdm 80.350) by less than half a point to earn second overall.

Another close race unfolded for the last spot in the top five, as Permian (5th, 78.425) slid ahead of Lake Ridge (6th, 78.200) by just 0.225 after finishing behind Lake Ridge in Prelims. Sherryland (Class AA) and Pecos (Class A) also earned class championships.

NEWARK, DE | Kiski rolls at U.D. 

For the first time this season, east coast BOA bands got the chance to shine on a Division I football stage, with 28 bands from nine different states competing at the University of Delaware for the BOA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. 

Much like the weekend’s other two BOA events, the race for first wasn’t particularly close; in fact, it was the widest first-to-second gap of the day, as Pennsylvania-based Kiski Area (1st, 83.000) topped the field by more than three points. 

A pair of Virginia bands — Independence (2nd, 79.550) and James Madison (3rd, 77.250) rounded out the top three, while also earning the top two spots in Class AAA. The day’s Class AAAA championship went to Mill Creek (9th, 72.950).

In one of the closer leaderboards of the weekend, third-place James Madison was just a point and a half ahead of sixth place, as Fort Mill (4th, 76.500), Green Hope (5th, 76.200) and Baldwinsville (6th, 75.750) all broke 75 points.