Redwater places fourth at state as Texarkana-area bands head to UIL, ASBOA marching finals

The Redwater High School band placed fourth in the state Wednesday night at the UIL 3A State Marching Band Championship in San Antonio. It is one of 10 Texarkana-area marching bands to make state this fall, and most of the rest perform next week in San Antonio and Little Rock.

Atlanta High School finished 10th in the same 3A final at the Alamodome. New Boston and DeKalb competed at the UIL’s separate state contest for military-style bands last week in Waco. Pleasant Grove High School competes in the 4A contest Wednesday, Nov. 11. On the Arkansas side, Arkansas High, Fouke, Genoa Central, Foreman and Hope all perform at the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association (ASBOA) State Marching Contest Nov. 9 and 10 at War Memorial Stadium.

Redwater finishes fourth in Texas

Redwater was third of 25 bands in Wednesday’s preliminary round, which earned it one of 10 spots in the evening final. In the final, Redwater placed fourth behind champion Mineola, Raymondville Early College and Wall. That’s according to official UIL results.

Atlanta was eighth in prelims and also made the final, where it placed 10th.

Article continues below

▼ Continue reading

Both bands earned their state trips at the UIL 3A Area C contest Oct. 24 at Whitehouse. Mineola won that contest, Redwater was second and Atlanta was fourth. Two more local bands, Queen City and Liberty-Eylau, also made the area finals and placed 11th and 12th. Hooks also competed at area.

New Boston and DeKalb march at military state

The UIL holds a separate state contest for military-style marching bands, a tradition centered in East Texas. This year’s 3A military contest was Wednesday, Oct. 28, at McLane Stadium at Baylor University in Waco. New Boston and DeKalb were two of the 10 bands in the 3A field.

Only the top five bands from prelims advanced to the evening final. New Boston placed seventh in prelims and DeKalb placed 10th, so neither made the final, according to official UIL results. West Rusk won the 3A military title.

New Boston brought 81 students to Waco, led by director Aaron Holt and assistant directors Russell Coburn, Dominique Phillips-McCarthy and Shane Valencia. Drum majors were Haven Ballard and Marissa Stiles. According to UIL records, the band also made state in 2021, 2023 and 2024, and it reached the final in 2021.

DeKalb’s 63-member band was led by director Michael White, assistant directors Luke Fields and Harold Raney, and drum major Aleigh Ermis. UIL records show DeKalb also made state in 2021, 2024 and 2025, and it reached the final in 2021. This year was the band’s third straight state trip.

Pleasant Grove up next in 4A

The Pleasant Grove High School band qualified for state by placing fifth at the 4A Area C contest Oct. 31 at Pine Tree. Seven bands from that contest advanced.

Pleasant Grove is fourth on the schedule for the 4A preliminary round Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Alamodome and performs at 9:15 a.m. Twenty-eight bands from across Texas are in the 4A field. Judges will choose finalists after prelims wrap up late that afternoon, and the 4A final is that evening.

The UIL contest streams live on the NFHS Network. Results are posted at smbc.uiltexas.org after each class’s final.

Five Arkansas-side bands head to Little Rock

The ASBOA State Marching Contest runs Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 9-11, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, with two classes competing each day. Here’s when local bands take the field, according to the ASBOA schedule and contest program:

Monday, Nov. 9 (Class 4A)

• Fouke High School Band, 9 a.m. Fouke opens the whole contest. The 84-member band performs “Groovitude.” Drum majors are Layla Rushing and Makenzie Dyas, and directors are Chris Gray, Kara Compton, Marion Corbin, Will Tomkins, Morgan Lafayette and JayJay Montoya.
• Hope, The Sound of Hope, 1:15 p.m. The 94-member band performs “Patchwork.” Directors are Christian Davis, Woodrow Boyd, Mia DuPree-Davis, Bryan Silva and Barry Kohr.
• Genoa Central Dragon Band, 2 p.m. The 17-member band performs “Tail of the Dragon,” led by drum major Kacylyn Reupta and directors Darrel East and T Jon Kelly.

Tuesday, Nov. 10 (classes 2A and 5A)

• Foreman Gator Marching Band (2A), 10:30 a.m. The 18-member band performs “The Wild Road West” under director Jonathan Spencer, with drum major Aiden Alpha.
• Arkansas High Razorback Marching Band (5A), 5:15 p.m. The 94-member band performs “Game of Survival,” with music ranging from Verdi’s Requiem to Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor.” Drum majors are Jude Lavay and Armani Harris, and directors are Vincent Flieder, Mikah Spyres-Brown, Jacob Werfelmann, Andrew Deuel and Tyler Chamberlain.

Several of these bands have a strong state record. According to the contest program’s list of past winners, Fouke won the Class 3A state title five years in a row, from 2018 through 2022. Foreman placed third in 2A last year and second in 2023, and won the 2A high music award in 2024. Hope finished second in Class 5A in 2024 and also won that class’s high visual award.

Other Southwest Arkansas bands in the field include Nashville (4A, Monday at 10:15 a.m.), De Queen (5A, Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.) and Magnolia (5A, Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.).

Many of these bands competed in Texarkana last month at the Four States Marching Classic at Grim Stadium.

Do you have photos from San Antonio or Little Rock? Send them to TXKtoday so we can share them with the community.