Since 2015, McAllen has been one of the most eventful and unpredictable regionals BOA has had to offer. This is due to it occurring in the early season, lots of parity in South Texas, and non-local programs making the trek down. Out of the 24 bands in attendance, over half have made finals at this regional, which is impressive considering this regional has only existed for six years.
This contest also has a history of extreme heat interfering with the competition, with last year’s finals canceled following a massive delay and prelims finishing after sundown. One look at the schedule and you can tell that MFA had this in mind when planning the event, with the first band stepping off at 7:00 am, the last at 2:00 pm, and followed by a nearly 5-hour break before finals start at 7:30 pm. Here is the full prelims schedule:
(All Times CT)
7:00 AM — Gladys Porter (TX)*
7:15 AM — James Pace (TX)
7:30 AM — Pioneer (TX)*
7:45 AM — Edinburg (TX)
8:00 AM — Mission (TX)
8:15 AM — Edinburg North (TX)
8:30 AM — McAllen (TX)*
8:45 AM — McAllen Nikki Rowe (TX)*
BREAK
9:30 AM — Robert Vela (TX)*
9:45 AM — Medina Valley (TX)
10:00 AM — Mission Veterans Memorial (TX)
10:15 AM — Rio Grande City (TX)*
10:30 AM — PSJA Early College (TX)
10:45 AM — McAllen Memorial (TX)*
11:00 AM — Santa Rosa (TX)*
11:15 AM — Sharyland (TX)
BREAK
12:15 PM — Del Rio (TX)*
12:30 PM — United (TX)
12:45 PM — Port Isabel (TX)
1:00 PM — John B. Alexander (TX)*
1:15 PM — Hidalgo Early College (TX)*
1:30 PM — Roma (TX)*
1:45 PM — Sandra Day O’Connor (TX)
2:00 PM — Louis D. Brandeis (TX)*
* Denotes returning group
The first block features four of the fourteen past finalists present here, the first of which is Pioneer, who has made finals here every year since 2016 (medaling in 2016 and 2017 and being named Class AA Champions in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021). They also have competed later in the season at BOA San Antonio, including a Class AA championship in 2021, but they are not scheduled to attend the Super Regional this year. Pioneer also is a regular qualifier out of their regional for the UIL 5A State Marching Contest. The other previous finalists in the first block include Edinburg and Edinburg North, the former of which made finals in 2017 and 2018 while the latter made finals from 2015-2017. After neither group attended in 2021, both will be looking to reclaim their title as BOA finalists here. Mission is the last former finalist in the first block, with their only time in finals being an upset for tenth place in 2019. This program will be wanting to prove that they are a band to take seriously and that 2019 was no fluke. Also worth mentioning in the first block are two Brownsville ISD schools, Gladys Porter and James Pace, who while not being finalists here before, have been steadily improving in recent years and have gotten close.
Block Two only holds three previous finalists, none of whom made it into the top 12 last year. The first of these is another Edinburg school, Robert Vela, who has only made finals once in 2016 but has been only a handful of spots out most other years. Rio Grande City is in a similar position, not having made finals since 2015 but often being just out, including a close 13th place finish in 2021. Both programs will be hoping to make their long-awaited return to finals after many close calls. Sharyland is in a different position, having opted out of this regional in 2021 despite most likely qualifying for finals if they had attended. They made their two finals appearances in 2019 and 2017 and will be a very strong contender for finals once again.
Other programs worth paying attention to in this block are Medina Valley and PSJA Early College. Medina Valley is the only high school in Castroville, a town about a half-hour's drive west of San Antonio, and this is their first BOA event in school history. PSJA hasn’t attended this regional since 2015 when they were far from finals, but the program has made huge strides since then including qualifying for the UIL 6A State Marching Contest in 2019 and being state alternate in 2021, so they should be another strong contender for finals.
The final block is by far the most exciting of the day, featuring seven former McAllen finalists and a Class A title contender new to BOA. Kicking off the block is Del Rio, who has become a very familiar face to this regional with finals appearances every year they’ve attended (2017, 2019, and 2021) placing as high as third just last year. They shouldn’t be going anywhere as a program, and you can expect them to be safely within the top 12 once again. United is looking to continue their streak of making finals here as they have made it every year since 2018. After not qualifying for state for the first time since 2014 last year, United is looking to have a strong bounce-back season. Port Isabel is a David in a block of Goliaths in two main ways: by being projected to compete in Class A and a first-time BOA attendee in a field of veteran finalists. That being said, they should be in strong contention for the Class A title as they are a consistent UIL 4A Area E finalist and 11-time state qualifier, including every state year from 2000 to 2018. Following Port Isabel is John B. Alexander, the 2019 BOA McAllen regional champion. Since they started their dramatic rise in 2017, they have quickly become a fan favorite and one of the most consistent bands in South Texas. They should again be in the running for a medal with an off-chance of taking home the gold.
The band going on next is not just a returning McAllen finalist but a veteran of BOA as a whole. Hidalgo has been a mostly regular BOA participant since 1997 and made Finals in 2004 at the one-off La Joya regional, not making it again until 2015 at the first McAllen regional. Since then, they have made finals here every year except for 2017 and 2019; in 2021, they dropped back down to Class A and won the title once again. It is unclear whether or not they will be in Class A or AA, but if they are in Class A again, they will be competing with Port Isabel for the title. Taking the field next is Roma who after quite the disappointing season of barely missing the mark (first out of finals at BOA Waco and the UIL 5A State Marching Contest) will surely be fully back in action this year. They are one of the best programs on the border and will be hungry to prove it after last year’s unfortunate finishes.
The last two bands of the day are not only both from San Antonio, but also from Northside ISD. The first of them is Sandra Day O’Connor, who actually attended this regional in 2015 where they finished just shy of a medal in fourth place. Since then the program has seen some ups and downs, but has remained one of the top bands in the very large and still growing school district, so they should comfortably qualify for finals here. The final band is the defending champion, Louis D. Brandeis, who are coming in as the clear favorites with 2021’s silver medalist Weiss not being in attendance. Unlike last year, Brandeis will be attending more BOA events after this one, those being BOA Austin (where they will be fighting for a highly coveted finals spot) and making their return to the San Antonio Super Regional after not attending in 2019 and 2021.
As you can tell, this contest will be as wild and unpredictable as ever, featuring many former finalists and new faces who will want to prove themselves as well. This has been a thrilling way to kick off the BOA season ever since it started in 2015, and inevitably will be again with many surprises and programs making history for themselves.
Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. Despite being young and fresh out of college, he has a vast knowledge and passion for the marching arts and has worked alongside the likes of HornRank as a ranker and moderator as well as the TxBands.com liveblog team since summer 2021. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.