Blue Devils add breathing room while bringing home another Southeastern Championship

ATLANTA — With just two weeks remaining on the 2023 DCI Tour, the Blue Devils picked up another key Saturday night victory as the Concord, California corps widened its lead heading into August.

Blue Devils took home top marks in all captions except percussion — which went to The Cavaliers — at the DCI Southeastern Championship presented by Ultimate Drill Book. The win is the Blue Devils’ seventh out of the last 10 editions of the annual regional competition.

After a performance that more-than doubled the corps’ advantage from Friday’s Murfreesboro, Tennessee event, Blue Devils drum major Corey Castillo spoke to the membership’s dedication to their craft.

“To come out here and have a better and more rewarding performance than Friday night speaks to the professionalism of this group,” Castillo said.

 

1. Blue Devils » 94.325
2. Carolina Crown » 92.400
3. Bluecoats » 92.375
4. Boston Crusaders » 92.050

Carolina Crown surged into second place at Saturday’s event, after finishing 0.35 points behind Boston Crusaders Friday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The Fort Mill, South Carolina corps earned second place largely due to its strong general effect scores. Bluecoats scored ahead of Crown in overall visual while Boston Crusaders outscored Carolina Crown in overall music. Bluecoats kept things very close, scoring just 0.075 behind Boston Crusaders after a 0.4-point timing penalty and scoring second in overall visual.

View the Scores & recap from the DCI Southeastern Championship

For Bluecoats, Saturday marked the corps’ return to full competition; the Canton, Ohio ensemble performed in exhibition at Friday’s Murfreesboro event due to corps member illness, but unveiled an array of design changes to its production, “The Garden of Love,” in Atlanta.

“It’s a lot of little tweaks and they happen fast,” Bluecoats drum major Finley Muela said. “Our designers are super smart and they know what they’re doing, so it takes a lot of trust between all of us on the field and the designers.”

 

5. Phantom Regiment » 89.275
6. The Cadets » 88.925
7. The Cavaliers » 88.100
8. Troopers » 85.725

Phantom Regiment maintained its lead against the sixth-place Cadets, with a fifth-place finish Saturday. The Rockford, Illinois corps’ 0.4 point advantage from the July 28 event in Murfreesboro remained nearly the same, with its lead anchored most notably by strong general effect scores.

The Cavaliers placed seventh Saturday night, and made up significant ground on The Cadets; the two corps were separated by just 0.825 points, after having been separated by more than two points July 22 in San Antonio. The Green Machine outscored The Cadets in percussion and music analysis.

Saturday’s event was another strong outing for The Cavaliers’ percussion section with another first-place finish in the caption in Atlanta. Similar to the section’s performance in San Antonio, Saturday’s run in Atlanta was the culmination of fine tuning.

“Tonight’s run was strong,” Cavaliers snare drum section leader Garrett Irwin said. “It was a combination of quite a few hard days’ work and putting in the sweat. We really felt that pay off today like in San Antonio.”

Finishing in eighth place Saturday night were the Troopers. The Casper, Wyoming corps, coming off of a tie for second place with Colts in Trussville, Alabama on July 28, finished ahead of The Cavaliers in brass.

“There was a lot of energy tonight and it was really nice to perform in such a unique stadium and such a big crowd,” Troopers drum major Bryan Paat said.

 

9. Blue Knights » 82.400
10. Pacific Crest » 81.475

Pacific Crest and Blue Knights — two corps who have scored in the vicinity of the coveted Top 12 finalist cut-off line throughout the 2023 season — posted their latest installment in a red-hot, season-long competitive race.

Blue Knights opened up a noticeably larger lead ahead of the Southern California corps at Saturday’s event, having outscored Pacific Crest by just 0.05 points Friday in Trussville. The Denver corps rode a significant lead in overall music to a total advantage of 0.925 points.

“This is a team effort,” Blue Knights drum major Laynie Metsker said. “We can’t do it alone. Everyone is focused on working together. They’re just making it happen because, at the end of the day, we’re here to get better. If we make 12th, then we do. If we don’t, then we went down trying.”

 

11. Spirit of Atlanta » 79.850
12. Madison Scouts » 79.800
13. Music City » 79.250

In a razor-thin three-corps race, Spirit of Atlanta closely edged out Madison Scouts and Music City, with the three separated by a total of just 0.05 points.

The Atlanta corps found its strength in the general effect and visual captions, but also scored ahead of Blue Knights and Pacific Crest in brass. Saturday marked Spirit’s first time outscoring Madison Scouts since 2019.

Saturday’s event was a homecoming for Spirit of Atlanta and the corps used the energy from the friendly crowd to propel them forward.

“This is the first place that I ever conducted as drum major,” drum major Blake Durden said. “Being able to come back and this be the true homecoming for the hometown team, it means the absolute world.”

Madison Scouts kept things incredibly close with Spirit of Atlanta largely due to strong music scores. The Wisconsin corps achieved especially strong percussion scores.

Rounding out the World Class leaderboard Saturday night was Music City. The Nashville, Tennessee corps finished as high as 11th in the overall visual caption, scoring ahead of both Spirit of Atlanta and Madison Scouts.

 

1. Heat Wave » 60.550

Completing its 2023 season at Saturday’s Atlanta event, Heat Wave logged a final tally of 60.550, marking an improvement of 1.25 points from the corps’ 2022 finale at the same venue.

Prior to Saturday’s event in Atlanta, the Tampa-based corps experienced some challenges due to extreme heat in the Florida area. However, the corps’ perseverance set it up for a successful run, according to Heat Wave drum major Matthew Dickerson.

“We put on a really good performance,” Dickerson said. “It looked like there were some happy faces coming off the field, so I’m really happy with the run we had.”

Seeing the corps’ membership grow together as the season progressed made the 2023 season a standout for Dickerson.

“It’s been absolutely amazing to see and work with [the corps],” Dickerson said. “This is the best season we’ve had during my three years with the corps.”

 

1. Atlanta CV » 77.500

Performing Saturday in the all-age division, Atlanta CV posted a score of 77.500.

Following the corps’ hometown appearance, Atlanta CV’s summer tour will lead the corps to the 2023 Drum Corps Associates World Championships, September 1-3 in Rochester, New York, where the corps finished second place a year ago.

“Tonight’s run was really great,” Atlanta CV drum major Katie Hoberg said. “Atlanta is always our first time getting in front of a large group [of fans]. It’s really exciting for us.”

As for Saturday’s 13 competing World Class corps, several will hit the road for Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Sunday’s key NightBEAT event, as the 2023 DCI Tour makes a late-summer turn up the eastern seaboard.

View the 2023 DCI Tour Schedule

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