By: Mishayla Stephenson

A hopeful marching band sat in the cold, metal stands at Thompson Valley on October 17 as it looked down upon drum major, Hannah Moser (13), and low brass section leader, Keri Ruff (13). Any second, the announcer would determine whether or not they would qualify for State. And fifth place, with a score of 42, goes to… THE EATON HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND! And the crowd went… silent. Forty-two. This was the number that subliminally had told the band that it had failed. Moser and Ruff stepped up, saluted, and accepted the plaque of pity.

Moser said that the band did not do well on the field because they were ”not as focused as we could have been.” Moser said she was disappointed because the progressive morning practices were misleading and unbeneficial. “The band only puts in their full effort when the deadline is too close for regionals. The back-to-back practices make the band worn out and ready for it to be over.” Moser said the tired attitude from the band was the direct cause of fifth place at regionals.

Ruff, on the other hand, was optimistic about the defeat. She said, “Everyone gave it their all, but we could have given more.” Ruff said she felt good about the performance because it’s the highest score the band has gotten in four years. “Despite how many problems we went through, we still pulled through at the end,” said Ruff.

Band director Phuong Nguyen also tried to stay positive. When he addressed the band, he said, “This was the highest score we’ve gotten since I’ve been here; you should be proud of yourselves.” Ruff thought that the biggest struggle was “losing people this year and having to rely on the freshmen to step up.”

Band members declare that they remain as a family; however, Moser said, “We say we are a family, but in reality, listening to the way people talk to each other, we are not a family. We really do need to stick together to be successful.”
During class time, a discussion came upon the band members, questioning whether or not to cut marching band. Nguyen said that there are not fully committed individuals wanting to be in the marching band. The issue of getting last place may be “resolved” by not competing at all the following years of marching band.