Hockley County school districts were represented 2A marching bands from Sundown, Ropes, Smyer and Whiteface at the Area A competition held at Amarillo ISD Dick Bivins Stadium.
The Sundown ‘Pride of the Oil Patch” Marching Band won the area championship and will advance to the state competition in San Antonio. The band is the defending state champion after winning the title in 2024 and has earned eight state championships since 1987.
Band director for Sundown is Justin Mauldin, with assistant directors Ashley Blount and Michael Watts, and percussion instructors Tristan Nock and John Rogers. In charge of the color guard is Amber Mauldin. Drum majors for the band are Daniel Mauldin, senior, Lincoln Keelser, junior, and A’bree Olivas, junior.
The Ropes Souring Eagle Marching Band placed third overall, also punching a ticket to the state competition. Band director is Nora Brazil, with assistants Heather Scoggins and Jay Sedberry. The band earned a state championship in 2015 and has been making solid competition showings since that time and now has another opportunity to win a state title.
The Area A competition featured 19 marching bands performing in the preliminary round, with seven advancing to the finalist round in the evening. Other finalist bands competing with Sundown and Ropes included Lockney (2nd and advancing), Panhandle (4th), Hale Center (5th), New Deal (6th) and Abernathy (7th).
The UIL State Open Class Contest is scheduled for Nov. 3-5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The 2A preliminaries will be held in the morning on Nov. 4 and the finals in the evening.
Spectators are encouraged to arrive early to avoid congestion at the doors. The Box Office will open 75 minutes prior to first performance and doors will open 45 minutes prior to the first performance in each session. tickets are also available through Ticketmaster. A limited amount of on-site spectator parking will be available in Lot B. The parking fee, as set by the City of San Antonio, is $15 (Card only). There are no reentry privileges. Spectator overflow parking will be available off-site.