The Bulldog Band has had a great marching season!  It all started way back in July with our Band Camps and ended this last weekend at the 53rd Annual Maple Leaf Marching Competition in Carthage, MO.  We've had our frustrating moments throughout the season with the weather, but we have finally broken through to be really competitive with the "big dogs."

The day started early, before the sun was up, at 6:00 A.M. with the students arriving at the school to get dressed and load the trailer and the bus.  Around 8:00 AM the Bulldog Band arrived in Carthage for the Parade!

​After we finished the parade, we loaded the bus to head to Carthage High School for our field show performance, after a quick bite of lunch.  We stepped foot on the field at 1:00 P.M. at what felt like the warmest temperature of the day!  The Bulldog Band performed, at the time, their best run of the show this season.  The stands were packed for our performance, because after performance was the announcement of the parade awards.

​The Bulldog Band would win 1st Place in Class 3 for the parade!  The Band went up against Seneca HS & East Newton HS bands.  It was a very tough competition between these three schools.

Once all of the bands performed their Preliminary performance, the moment of truth was coming upon us!  The Bulldog Band would end finals with the "Outstanding Horn Line" caption, which is best musical performance, and the "Outstanding Auxiliary" caption, which is the FOURTH time this season that our Color Guard has won this award in FOUR competitions!  After the announcement of the caption awards came the ranking awards for Class A.  In third place was Fair Grove HS with 113.8 points, second place was Sarcoxie HS with 113.9 points, and WINNING Class A, with a chance to perform in the Finals, was the Bulldog Band with 126.2 points!

​The Bulldog Band would draw to perform 4th in the Finals Competition and perform at 8:15 P.M.  The kids were a little worried, but Mr. White knew that if he could get them to step up their performance, this band could very well be competitive and knock someone off in Finals.  To say the kids performed their hearts out, would be the biggest understatement EVER!  We followed Branson HS, Webb City HS, and Glendale HS with our performance.  The crowd was ruckus and really helped the kids feel very comfortable with the performance.  It was a great energy to feed off for the evening!  There were many watery-eyed moments for Mr. White as he watch his band perform.  So much pride for the Bulldog Band!

​At the end of the evening, the Finals Competition would end with the following rankings:

10th Place - BULLDOG BAND (135 Points)
9th Place - Branson High School (135.1 Points)
8th Place - Glendale High School (138.8 Points)
7th Place - Webb City High School (140.4 Points)
6th Place - Parkview High School (147.5 Points)
5th Place - Carl Junction High School (156.1 Points)
4th Place - Aurora High School (160.5 Points)
3rd Place - Logan-Rogersville High School (163.1 Points)
2nd Place - Neosho High School (164.5 Points)
1st Place - Lebanon High School (167 Points)

To say we were competitive is an understatement. I am beyond proud of all the work the kids have put into this season and couldn't have asked for a better ending.  To be 0.1 points behind BRANSON HIGH SCHOOL was amazing.  We scored higher than the next three bands in multiple captions, but just couldn't pull it off in other areas of the show.

​We are excited to perform the show again at the FIRST ROUND DISTRICT PLAYOFF GAME on Friday, against East Newton!  We hope that you will join us as we give the show another run for our home crowd!  As always, thank you to everyone for the kind words and encouragement offered throughout this marching season!  Mr. White always tells his kids that the only opinions that matter are his, the school's, and the community's.  We love performing for our friends, family, and fans!  We hope to see you at the game on Friday to help cheer on our Bulldog Football team!

Thank you for your continued support!

In case you didn't leave your house this weekend, it was a cold & wet weekend for Marching Bands!  On Saturday, October 13 the Bulldog Band left for the Branson Marching Invitational at 6:30 AM!  Following a long, but GREAT night of football and a drive-in movie, 6:00 AM came way to early for some of the kids...and Mr. White!

The Bulldog Band performed at 10:15 AM at Pirate Stadium at Branson High School to a great crowd!  This performance was by far the best run the Bulldog Band has had on this show so far this season!  The kids really stepped up, played very well, and marched very strong!