UIL marching contest Saturday at Barry Field

Taking the field... The Mighty Owl Band, shown last Saturday during their exhibition performance at the God’s Country Marching Festival, will be aiming for another Division 1 rating this Saturday, when the UIL Region XI Marching Contest (Conferences 1A-3A) comes to Barry Field. Competition begins at 4 p.m. (when D’Hanis marches) and concludes with the 8:45 p.m. performance of the MOB.  

4A-5A event at Judson

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

The UIL Region XI marching contest for Conferences 1A-3A will take place this Saturday at Barry Field in Hondo.

Seventeen bands will perform at the Hondo football stadium, seeking a Division I rating from the judges, with competition beginning at 4 p.m.

The D’Hanis Pride Band will be the first band of the day to perform, opening up the 1A competition at 4 p.m. After the four 1A bands have performed, Sabinal will be the second of the five 2A bands, stepping off at 5:15.

Hondo’s Mighty Owl Band will perform its 2026 contest show, “Dream State,” at 8:45, for the final performance of the day, wrapping up the afternoon for the eight 3A bands.

Other local bands in the 3A division include Devine (7:15), Natalia (7:45) and Lytle (8:30).

Admission is $10. Spectators will be allowed to move about the grandstands only while bands are not performing. A full concession stand will be operated by the Hondo Band Boosters, with souvenir stands also set up at the south end of the stadium.

The UIL is holding the Region XI 4A-6A contest at the Judson ISD’s Rutledge Stadium beginning at 2:15, when the lone 3A band, Jourdanton, will perform. Creek View will perform in the 4A division at 3:15 p.m., and Medina Valley will step off at 4:45 p.m., the first band to perform in 5A.

Bands earning a Division I rating at the regional level will qualify to advance to area competition. For qualifying 3A bands in Region XI, the Area E contest will be Saturday, Oct. 24, at Alice High School. The 2A area contest will be on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Odem HS. The 5A competition for Area H will also be on Oct. 24, with bands returning to Rutledge Stadium.

The top few bands at Area earn the right to advance to the State Marching Contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio. For 3A, State is set for Wednesday, Nov. 4. For 2A, it’s Tuesday, Nov. 10; for 5A, State will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 2-3; and for 4A, the state contest is Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Any 1A band earning a Division I rating at region will qualify to advance directly to State on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

UIL Region XI Marching Contest,

Conferences 1A-3A

Sat., Oct. 17, 2026,

Barry Field, Hondo

- - -

Conference 1A

4:00 D’Hanis

4:15 Leakey

4:30 Rocksprings

4:45 Nueces Canyon

Conference 2A

5:00 Brackett

5:15 Sabinal

5:30 Dilley

5:45 La Pryor

6:00 Charlotte

6:15 1A/2A announcements

- - - - -

Conference 3A

7:00 Carrizo Springs

7:15 Devine

7:30 Crystal City

7:45 Natalia

8:00 Cotulla

8:15 Poteet

8:30 Lytle

8:45 Hondo

9:00 3A announcements

- - -

Judges:

  Jeffrey Keys

  Roland Sandoval

  Danny Solis

UIL Region XI Marching Contest,

Conferences 3A-6A

Sat., Oct. 17, 2026,

Rutledge Stadium, Converse

- - -

Conference 3A

2:15 Jourdanton

- - -

Conference 4A

2:30 Pleasanton

2:45 Pearsall

3:00 JF Kennedy

3:15 Creek View

3:30 Memorial

3:45 Uvalde

4:00 Somerset

4:15 3A/4A announcements

- - - - -

Conference 5A

4:45 Medina Valley

5:00 Eagle Pass Winn

5:15 South San

5:30 Veterans Memorial

5:45 Harlandale

6:00 McCollum

6:15 Southside

6:30 5A announcements

- - - - -

Conference 6A

7:15 Southwest

7:30 Clemens

7:45 Steele

8:00 Legacy

8:15 Eagle Pass

8:30 East Central

8:45 Judson

9:00 Del Rio

9:15 Wagner

9:30 6A announcements

- - - - -

Contest judges:

  Alfonzo Alvarado

  Brian Pollard

  Frank Sosa