This past Saturday, Sept. 28, the Francis Howell North marching band, KnightPride, competed at the Lafayette Contest of Champions at Lafayette High School. The band received Best General Effect in preliminaries, placed second during prelims, and fifth overall in finals. The band performed “The Boxer.”

 “I was very enthusiastic about the placement of our runs,” member of the band, Chris Steimel, said. “We had to play finals in the rain and it was better than what we thought we were going to do.”

The band had to miss Homecoming this past weekend due to their competition. According to members of the band, most did not mind missing Homecoming, but wish they could’ve gone. The band will be holding a “Bandcoming” as compensation.

“If there was anyone that would’ve been upset about missing Homecoming, it would’ve been the seniors and freshmen”  band member, Abby Hinman, said. “And it seems like everyone wouldn’t have cared because we’re just so tight knit and we would’ve been with each other whether we went to homecoming or not.”

According to members of the band, the band’s performance was better than their last at Saint Charles West. They were more focused than last week’s competition due to going back over basics at practice the week before.

“The energy level in finals was amazing,” Battery Section Leader, Jacob Lesinski, said. “It helped us jump 5 points and also it was fun getting to perform in the rain.”