Yoe Band marching on to state competition

By Josh Pratt

Staff writer

Any well-known programs are known for their consistency.  When referring to the C.H. Yoe High School Band, there is no better word to describe what is brought to the field each and every performance.  

On Saturday from the area D marching contest from Hewitt Midway, the band added to their long tradition of excellence by punching their fourth straight trip to the state marching contest in San Antonio.  

“It’s a long day and it’s asking a lot from the students, but seeing them put up two greats shows is very exciting,” said band director Craig George following the big announcement.  

The band first performed in the preliminary round of 24 bands at 11:30 a.m.  After that performance, the band traveled back to Cameron to freshen up, eat and work out a few points in the show before heading back up to Hewitt.  

Shortly before arriving back at the stadium, it was announced that Cameron was one of the 10 bands to perform in the finals competition that night.  

The band returned to the field at 7:45 p.m. and put together possibly it’s top run through of their show “To Believe.”

“We had a good draw and great weather,” said George.  “There was a lot of energy on the field.  You could sense it in the warm-up and the drive over and you could definitely sense it on the field.”

Cameron had to wait for eight other bands to perform before the highly anticipated results were announced.  

“C.H. Yoe High School” were the first words to come out of the loudspeaker.  There was an immediate eruption of cheers and hugs from the folks in maroon and grey shortly thereafter. 

The four bands announced were Cameron, Clifton, Tolar and Troy, and that was the actual order of rankings of the advancing groups.  Cameron had finished second to Clifton in the preliminary round. 

The Yoe band had 11 points while Clifton sat at 8, with the lower the score, the better.  The script was flipped in the finals as Cameron finished with an 8 while Clifton was second with a 12.  Tolar finished with 16 and Troy came in with a 28.  

Cameron finished second to Clifton two years ago in this same contest.  The Cubs went on to finish 2nd at state behind state champion Whitesboro.  

Though it is tough to prepare kids for a trip to one of the biggest stadiums in the state, the Alamodome is something that has been in the back of the heads of everyone in the program all season. 

“It benefits me a lot as a director going several times because the Alamodome speaks to the audience,” said George on past experiences.  “It’s a way different ring and sound.  You have to prepare the kids all year long for the Alamodome sound if you can get there.  We do that from day one and I think we’re in an advantageous spot.  I look forward to great things this week.”

Performances

The band has traditionally departed from Cameron the day before the competition, but this year will be leaving the same morning as the contest on Tuesday.  Cameron will be the 7th band to march in the preliminary round at 1:30 p.m.  

Another 13 bands will perform before the drum major retreat and the announcement of the top 10 bands.  If the band moves on, they will then march again at a time to be determined.  The times for those performances are anywhere from 7:15 to 9:30.  

The top three bands in the state will be announced starting at 10:00 p.m.  

The band only has a little over a week to do more fine tuning, but the message from George will remain the same as it has been the entire year. 

“The message from day one has been the same coming out of my mouth, and that is I just want their best of that day.  Whatever they have for that day and that rehearsal, I want their absolute best.  We just have to keep building on that this next week and keep asking for their best.”

The Competition

A total of 20 bands will be traveling to San Antonio from every part of the state of Texas.  Besides Cameron’s slate of bands, there were four other area competitions that will be sending groups to state. 

Area A: 1. Crane, 2. Canadian, 3. Clyde

Area B: 1. Farmersville, 2. Holliday, 3. Whitesboro, 4. Howe

Area C: 1. 1. Mineola, 2. Queen City, 3. New Diana 4. New Boston

Area D: 1. Cameron Yoe, 2, Clifton, 3. Tolar, 4. Troy

Area E: 1. Santa Gertrudis Academy, 2. Santa Rosa, 3. Luling, 4. Odem, 5. Industrial

In addition to Clifton in their own area, Farmersville, Holliday and Whitesboro in area B and Mineola and Queen City in area C are bands that would be considered top contenders.  Whitesboro, the defending state champs, did finish third in their area this year.   

Live Steam

If you cannot make it out to San Antonio on Tuesday, you can still watch the Yoe band live via the internet.  The link to the steam is: https://www.box5tv.com/uil/signup.  The cost for both the the preliminary and final sessions for 3A is $18.  The cost for just the finals session is $10.