ROCK HILL, S.C. — State championship season is here for high school marching bands, and schools from the Rock Hill region will be on the field for three straight Saturdays.
The biggest local turnout comes first. Twelve of the 15 bands in the region compete this Saturday, Oct. 24, many of them in the Class 5A contest in Lexington.
That 5A field is loaded with local contenders. Nation Ford High has taken the last two 5A crowns and owns 11 state titles since the school opened in 2007. Catawba Ridge High, the two-time reigning 4A champion, has moved up to 5A this year with four titles since it opened in 2019. Indian Land High, an eight-time winner whose last title came in 2001, will also march, along with 2008 champion Northwestern High and Rock Hill High.
On Oct. 31, two longtime York County rivals meet in Class 4A. York High has won five state titles, most recently in 2003, while Clover High has two, the latest in 2007. With Catawba Ridge gone to 5A, the class has no defending champion, and none of the 22 bands entered has ever won a 4A title.
The season closes Nov. 7 at South Carolina State University, where Fort Mill High is the only area band in Class 6A. Fort Mill holds a state record 24 titles, last winning in 2014, and moves up a class to face powerhouse programs Wando and James F. Byrnes.
In every class, preliminary rounds and finals happen on the same day, and class assignments are based on school enrollment. This weekend, the 5A bands perform at River Bluff High School on Corley Mill Road in Lexington.
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