The FHS band added another superlative feather to its cap Saturday by claiming first place among 18 bands at the University Interscholastic League Class 1A Area Marching Contest at Lowery Field in Lubbock and earning its sixth straight trip to the UIL state marching contest.
The Big Spring High School band, competing at the Class 4A area contest in Odessa, was not as fortunate, as it finished out of the running for a trip to state.
Forsan, under the direction of Jim Rhodes, placed third after Saturday’s first round of competition. Since only three bands advance to state from area, it was definitely gut-check time for the squad.
“Yeah, we were a little nervous there,” Rhodes said. “I just told the kids that they needed to step it up in the finals and make sure we didn’t drop below that third and final spot ... It really didn’t matter to me if we finished first, second or third, as long as we qualifield for the state contest.”
His charges did much more than just hold the line.
“I was very impressed with the way the kids stepped up in the finals,” he said. “We had never won at area before, so this was kind of neat.
“I was very excited to watch they step up to the occasion,” he added. “They really stepped up to a championship level when their backs were against the wall.”
Sundown finished second and Canadian third to earn trips to the state contest along with Forsan.
Forsan now advances to defend its Class 1A state title. The UIL state contest begins Nov. 1 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Rhodes said FHS will march 12th among 16 bands at the competition, although no estimated time of performance has been released yet.
Rhodes said the band will savor its area-level win for a bit, then get to work getting ready for the state contest.
“First of all, this never gets old,” he said of earning a spot in the state contest. “What we want to do is keep getting better and raise the bar on what we can do. We don’t want to just compete in San Antonio; we want to be a major player. Our immediate goal is to qualify for the final round at state, then see if we can finish in one of the top three spots.”
Big Spring fell short of its goal of reaching the final round of competition at the area contest, but Director Rocky Harris expressed pride in his band’s effort.
“We wanted to make the finals, but we just came up short,” Harris said. “But I thought the kids did an outstanding job.”
Bands from Azle, Boswell, Frenship and Saginaw earned a spot in the state contest.
“The kids did very well in a very tough classification,” Harris said. I’m very proud of what they’ve accomplished this year.”
Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at
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