Prior to competing in their own state championship events, many, many, many Texas bands had the opportunity to take the Bands of America stage, November 4-5 at the BOA San Antonio Super Regional Championship. 

Here are the big competitive takeaways from two full days at the Alamodome:

1. The top numbers are insane

First, some perspective on the number “96.”

At 2021’s BOA Grand Nationals — yes, Grand Nationals, a week later than the San Antonio Super Regional — 96 points flat would have been enough for a top-three finish. At 2021’s San Antonio super, 96 points flat would have won the whole thing.

Why 96? At this weekend’s event, three bands broke 96. A fourth finished just below the 96-point mark, scoring 95.800. 

Simply put, those numbers are staggering. 

2. The other numbers are also insane

If we take this one even further for a second, really the entire finals scoreboard from the San Antonio super is jaw-dropping. 

For starters, the top 11 bands scored 90.500 or higher. The lowest Finals score — 14th-place Marcus, which finished sixth at the 2021 Grand Nationals — was 88.800.

Looking again in comparison to a leaderboard Grand Nationals — the big show, the whole thing — here’s what 90.500 equated to over the last several years:

2021 - 10th

2019 - 9th 

2018 - 8th

2017 - 11th

2016 - 11th

At the end of the day, the only takeaway — the depth of this event’s lineup cannot be overstated, and the numbers back it up. Bands up and down the recap deserve major credit for very impressive competitive outputs. 

3. Hebron keeps it rolling amidst airtight top four

Last year, Hebron was the name atop many Texas BOA events, putting up strong numbers throughout the fall of 2021; its score of 95.950 topped last year’s San Antonio super. 

For its second act, Hebron tacked on nearly a full point to that score, earning 96.750 to lead the way this weekend. 

And its margin of victory got smaller. 

Hebron held a lead of just a quarter of a point over second-place The Woodlands; at the same event last season, second-place Vandegrift finished 0.75 points behind the leader. The Woodlands also took a caption award, winning general effect while Hebron took music and visual. 

Ronald Reagan, which won the same event in 2019, rounded out the top three, scoring 96.000 on the dot and fending off Vandegrift (4th, 95.800) by two-tenths. 

4. So many non-finalists deserve a shoutout

Here’s a crazy stat — at the San Antonio Super Regional, in Prelims, 38 bands broke 80 points. 

Thirty. Eight. Bands.

The quality of non-finalists at this event was outstanding. While there was a decent-sized gap between the last finalist and the first non-finalist,  there was a slew of bands within decently-close striking distance.

In Prelims, 14th-place Pearland outscored 15th-place James Bowie by just under two points, but the total distance between Pearland and even 23rd-place Cypress Woods was just over four points.

Ultimately, these are just the overarching notes from a jam-packed competitive event; If you’re someone who likes to dive into scores, the Prelims and Finals recaps from San Antonio or well worth pouring over. 

Full Finals Results

1st - 96.750 – Hebron High School, TX

2nd - 96.500 – The Woodlands High School, TX

3rd - 96.000 – Ronald Reagan High School, TX

4th - 95.800 – Vandegrift High School, TX

5th - 94.400 – Vista Ridge High School, TX

6th - 94.200 – Claudia Taylor Johnson High School, TX

7th - 93.350 – Flower Mound High School, TX

8th - 91.600 – Round Rock High School, TX

9th - 91.350 – Cedar Ridge High School, TX

10th - 91.250 – Cedar Park High School, TX

11th - 90.500 – Coppell High School, TX

12th - 89.650 – Pearland High School, TX

13th - 89.350 – Marcus High School, TX

14th - 88.800 – Keller High School, TX