Searcy, AR. (LP) — On Saturday, October 12, the Searcy High School Marching Lion Band attended the annual War Memorial Stadium marching contest. This competition was the culmination of countless hours of practice that spans back since before school started during summer band rehearsals. At the War Memorial Contest, bands are judged by three different judges. One judge focuses solely on the flag line, one judge focuses mainly on the percussion, and one judge focuses primarily on the drum line. The Searcy High School Band received the highest marks possible from each of the judges on all categories, and they received the award for spectacular drum majors in the 6a/7a division.
The band’s show theme this year is “Welcome to the Jungle” featuring Welcome to the Jungle by Guns and Roses, Jungle Boogie by Kool and the Gang, George of the Jungle, and Jungle Love by the Steve Miller band. The Searcy High School Band is directed by Tony Luzzi, Josette Cordell, and Matthew Fudge, as well as drum majors Madison Peters, and Katherine Peters. The drum majors were very happy with the band’s performance this year, “Everyone put in a lot of work, and we deserved the ratings that we got this year.” Katherine Peters was also especially proud of achieving spectacular drum majors for the competition, “This was my second year of being drum major and I think that this has made all the hard work that we put in up to this point worth it.”
This contest can also be a big moment for seniors since it is one of the biggest events of the band season, and it will be the seniors last chance to participate. Jackson James, a senior band member, as well as a member of the pit expressed what his last War Memorial performance means to him, “This is a big moment in my senior year, and this really signifies our last chance to participate in a marching contest as large as this one, especially if you aren’t joining a marching band in college.” Although Searcy did very well at the contest on Saturday Jackson still felt there was room for improvement, “I think that we have plenty to work on before the regional marching contest, and I’m sure that Mr. Luzzi will be practicing us even harder to get prepared.”
The Searcy High School Band will be hosting the regional marching competition at Lion Stadium on October 22. All students are invited to attend the contest, and to be sure to make it to the Lion’s performance at 7:30 to give support, and cheers for your Marching Lion Band!
