In the midst of our football games is the halftime show, performed by our national-competing marching band. The talented group is led by the band director Darron Young, alongside Mika Saario. Additional adult leaders include visual instructor Aleksi Saario, percussion instructor Aaron Bertoglio, and colorguard instructor Christopher Focer.
Peforming their program “The Silver Lining,” the band is conducted by senior Rachel Nimtz and junior Shannon Amos. Nimtz says the band is “really just a family, [they] love what [they] do.” Many parents play an active role in helping the organization through providing food and assisting in the transportation of materials.
The marching band begins practicing in the summer from seven a.m. until three p.m., and finishes at the end of their competition season typically in the first week of November, with 90 minute practices after school. Their long hours of practice have paid off in first place wins in the national band competition several times, and they are expecting to win again, at the time of publication.
On September 25 at Chopticon High School in Morganza, Maryland, the band won by default as the only high school in their category, Open – Group II. Their total score of 81.3 received the highest score out of all of the categories by a shocking average of 8 points.
Following their initial success at Chopticon, they won by defaults at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School and Huntingtown High School, with improved scores of 83.2 and 83.6, beating all the other schools.
At the Marine Corps Invitational, the band finally ran into some competition in their category: Calvert Hall College High School and Gov. Thomas Jefferson High School. The Captains won with a score of 86.6 and won again at Leonard Town High School with a score of 89.1.
The band competed at regionals on October 25 against Calvert Hall and successfully won with a score of 90.3, the highest score in the area. On November 1, they won the state competition with a score of 93.9.
The Captains are anticipating their most important competition of the season, nationals, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Although football performances are what we may see the most, this exact competition is what truly makes or breaks their status, reputation, and identity as a team.
Saxophone soloist and junior Noah Wollam said “it feels amazing to perform in front of all those people” at the MetLife stadium, where “there are [about] 50 other bands that compete.” Whether or not the Captains win at nationals, one thing is for certain: their hard work and sense of community are first-place-deserving in itself. •
