2016 Powder Springs Regional



Prelims Results
(view full recap here)

Class A
1. Saint James School, AL

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

Class AA
1. Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO
2. Jackson County H.S., GA
3. River Ridge H.S., GA

Music: Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO
Visual: Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO
GE: Jackson County H.S., GA

Class AAA
1. Harrison H.S., GA
2. Blue Springs South H.S., MO
3. McEachern H.S., GA

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

Class AAAA
1. Boiling Springs H.S., SC
2. Milton H.S., GA
3. Mill Creek H.S., GA

Music: Milton H.S., GA
Visual: Mill Creek H.S., GA
GE: Boiling Springs H.S., SC

Finals Results:
(view full recap here)

1. (75.85) Harrison H.S., GA
2. (72.60) Blue Springs South H.S., MO
3. (71.55) Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO
4. (70.15) McEachern H.S., GA
5. (68.80) Boiling Springs H.S., SC
6. (67.90) Mill Creek H.S., GA
7. (67.85) Milton H.S., GA
8. (67.40) Jackson County H.S., GA
9. (66.60) Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA
10. (64.30) Alan C. Pope H.S., GA

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

Returning 2015 Finalists (5):
2. Harrison H.S., GA
3. Milton H.S., GA
5. McEachern H.S., GA
7. DeSoto Central H.S., MS
10. Alan C. Pope H.S., GA

Previous Champions:
2015: Fort Mill H.S., SC
2014: Harrison H.S., GA
2013: Franklin H.S., TN

States Represented (6):
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Carolina.
About
The 2016 Powder Springs Regional was held Sept. 17 at McEachern High School. Consistent national finalist Harrison won the event decisively.

It's not often you see groups from Missouri competing in Georgia, but Blue Spring South and Fort Zumwalt North are two groups to keep on your radar. Both have been steadily improving over the past few years and are aiming to make super regional finals at St. Louis next month.

Analysis
The Powder Springs Regional is one of three regionals that make up the opening weekend of competition. For the fourth consecutive year, it will be held on the beautiful campus of McEachern High School.

This regional is one of our favorites in the South. The location attracts groups from both the Midwest, Atlantic Coast, and the Southeast regions of the United States, and the venue and stadium are perfect for the size of the event. In three years of this event, the average margin between first and second place is less than a point, and no group has ever swept captions in finals. We expect that tradition to continue.

At first glance, five groups look poised to make a run at the championship: Blue Springs South, Boiling Springs, Harrison, Kennesaw Mountain, and Milton. These five groups will certainly make up the top half of finals.

Blue Springs South has made consistent improvements in the past few years, including their fourth place finish at the opening-weekend 2015 Clarksville Regional. It would be an impressive leap, but not an impossible one.

Boiling Springs has been a consistent regional finalist and Grand National semifinalist over the last several years, and could make some noise with an early-season victory. Last year, severe flooding in South Carolina resulted in a significant loss of rehearsal time and an eighth place finish at Winston-Salem, but we expect the group to bounce back to their previous standards of excellence.

If only Nation Ford would attend this event so we could relive the exciting and furious 2012 Jacksonville Regional. That year, the two rivals swapped places from prelims to finals and spent weeks afterwards on the forums debating who was really the better school.

Harrison has developed a tradition of narrowly placing second behind a group they go on to beat at later competitions. That tradition could continue this year, or they could start the season off on top in preparation for a tough Atlanta Super Regional.

Kennesaw Mountain’s last two appearances at Grand Nationals have netted two Class AAA championships and two Grand National Finals placements, a feat that has only been matched by county rival Harrison. We wouldn’t be surprised to see these two swapping places — and even captions — in prelims and finals.

We severely underestimated Milton last year, predicting them out of finals before they placed third in prelims (though finals was cancelled because of weather). Prior to 2015, their most recent BOA appearance resulted in a 14th place finish at Powder Springs, and we did not expect such a drastic improvement in a few short years. Milton will be competing at the Atlanta Super Regional this year, and a champion title or medalist spot at Powder Springs would put them in the right position to become a super regional finalist.

The bottom half of finals is a little bit more tricky to predict.

DeSoto Central has consistently made finals at Powder Springs and should complete that task yet again.

Fort Zumwalt North has made finals at several regional competitions in the past and we expect them to be safely in finals. It is new to be travelling this far south, however, so we aren't entirely sure how they will compete in this region.

McEachern might be said to have home field advantage, but that wasn't the case in 2014, when the school placed one spot out of finals. They made finals in 2015 at Powder Springs and Winston-Salem and should be making finals again this year as they look to make a push in finals at the Atlanta Super Regional.

Our last two groups are definitely bubble bands and could easily be replaced by other strong programs or newcomers with a good prelims run.

Alan C. Pope took the last finals spot in 2015, but has a history of competition that goes back many more years.

Ola had a rough 2015, placing outside of finals at Powder Springs, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. However, a new director and a great show this year is setting them up for what could be a return to finals.

We expect all the finals spots to go to bands in classes AA–AAAA, so the class A champion would be given an exhibition performance after the finals competition concludes. We expect that group to be Saint James School from Alabama.

Because of the nature of these early-season regionals, don’t be surprised if some groups are unexpectedly competitive on finals night. Groups like Mill Creek and River Ridge have had success at various regionals in recent years as well and there are a few names at this regional we, quite frankly, don't know much about.

Predictions
Predictions represent the majority opinion of the HornRank staff.
1. Harrison H.S., GA
2. Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA
3. Blue Springs South H.S., MO
4. Boiling Springs H.S., SC
5. Milton H.S., GA
6. Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO
7. McEachern H.S., GA
8. DeSoto Central H.S., MS
9. Ola H.S., GA
10. Alan C. Pope H.S., GA

Adjudication Panel
Music: Glenn Fugett, Jeremy Earnhart, Jay Kennedy, and Monte Mast
Visual: Jackie Gilley, Neil Smith, and Mike Stone
Chief: Richard Saucedo