2014 Atlanta Super Regional



Prelims Results:
(View full recap here)

Class A
1. Saint James School, AL
2. Mount Pleasant H.S., NC
3. Mid-Carolina H.S., SC

Music: Saint James School, AL
Visual: Saint James School, AL
GE: Saint James School, AL

Class AA
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Dripping Springs H.S., TX
3. Father Ryan H.S., TN

Music: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL

Class AAA
1. Harrison H.S., GA
2. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
3. Nation Ford H.S., SC

Music: Harrison H.S., GA
Visual: Harrison H.S., GA
GE: Harrison H.S., GA

Class AAAA
1. William Mason H.S., OH
2. Wando H.S., SC
3. Blue Springs H.S., MO

Music: William Mason H.S., OH
Visual: Wando H.S., SC
GE: William Mason H.S., OH

Finals Results:
(View full recap here)

1. (93.90) Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. (89.00) William Mason H.S., OH
3. (88.50) Harrison H.S., GA
4. (88.25) Wando H.S., SC
5. (86.35) Blue Springs H.S., MO
6. (86.35) Dripping Springs H.S., TX
7. (82.85) Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
8. (82.55) Walton H.S., GA
9. (80.95) Lafayette H.S., LA
10. (80.05) Father Ryan H.S., TN
11. (79.20) Mill Creek H.S., GA
12. (77.85) Cape Fear H.S., NC

Music: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
About
The 2014 Atlanta Super Regional was held Oct. 31–Nov. 1 at the Georgia Dome. Thirty-nine bands from across the Southeast competed, and Tarpon Springs was named super regional champion.

Post-competition analysis
It's never a surprise when Tarpon wins Atlanta, unless it happens to be one of the random years that Broken Arrow goes to Atlanta. This year, the biggest excitement was about another out-of-towner, William Mason. Mason has been steadily improving since they first made Grand Nats finals in 2011. This year, there are even some murmurs about a possible run at the eagle. It's also interesting to see Harrison sandwiched between several groups who are attending Grand Nats and expected to make finals. While this is an off year for Harrison, we were excited to see that they didn't just take a year off from performing extremely complex, competitive shows.

Pre-competition analysis
Atlanta is often thought of as the southeastern championship, though there are many good bands from this region who won’t be attending this regional. This year’s top half of finals is extremely competitive and we could see any of the top four pulling out the championship title. Tarpon has won this competition so many times (when Broken Arrow doesn’t attend) and is likely to win again this year, but there is some serious competition from Mason, Wando, and Harrison that could push them off the podium (no drum majors would be injured in this incident).

The next four are all Grand National semi finalists from the recent past. Blue Springs and Dobyns-Bennett were semifinalists in 2013 while Lafayette and Nation Ford were semifinalists in 2012. Dobyns-Bennett and Blue Springs are predicted in the fifth and sixth place spots because of their showings at Winston-Salem and San Antonio last year, though we wouldn’t be surprised if there was some scrambling among the fifth-eighth place bands.

Places nine through 12 are wide open spots, and could be taken by many different bands. Expect competition to be fierce, but we’re going to give the nod to six bands that we know can produce. Park Vista has become very good in recent years and George Walton is part of that fruitful soil of excellent Cobb County bands. Dripping Springs is making the trip out from Texas and, although we’re not quite sure what we’ll see, we expect them to represent their state well. Father Ryan has been a regional champion and a Grand National Semifinalist before, but for the past two years, their placements have drifted a bit from that history. However, all four of these bands are going to receive quite the fight from bands like Ooltewah, Ola, North Cobb, Hillgrove, East Coweta, Green Hope, and Mill Creek, to name just a few. It could easily be said that Atlanta will be the most competitive super regional in terms of bands just making it into finals. Be prepared for a couple days of intense competition in the Georgia Dome.

Predictions
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Harrison H.S., GA
3. William Mason H.S., OH
4. Wando H.S., SC
5. Blue Springs H.S., MO
6. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
7. Nation Ford H.S., SC
8. Lafayette H.S., LA
9. Park Vista H.S., FL
10. Father Ryan H.S., TN
11. George Walton H.S., GA
12. Dripping Springs H.S., TX