RENADA – The Topper Pride band went through a flurry of activity Oct. 9 and 10, but came out none the worse for wear and with four brand new trophies.

The HHS band was set to perform at the MSHAA Region I State Marching Band evaluation in Tupelo on Oct. 10, but the weather didn’t cooperate.

“We normally attend the Region I evaluation in Tupelo, but on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 9, the event was postponed due to poor field conditions,” said band director Richard Shirey via email. “Later that afternoon, we also got word that our football game had been postponed to Saturday, Oct. 10.”

The rescheduling of the Region I evaluations to Oct. 17 led to conflicts for several band students.

“We were in quite a spot, with a dozen or so students no able to attend the rescheduled evaluation on the 17th,” Shirey said.

Shirey got on the phone with the MSHAA and the site coordinators for Region I as well as Region II in Grenada and did some quick rearranging.

“After getting some logistics worked out, we headed to Caledonia the next morning, played our show at halftime, loaded up the buses and headed to Grenada for evaluation,” Shirey said.

The band seemed to be on track for competition, but they weren’t quite out of the woods yet. Band Booster Bart Munlin said that more adventures were in store for the students.

“We were cruising along 30 minutes into the trip (to Grenada) when the dust flew,” Munlin said. “I knew something wasn’t right. Dust on a rainy day?”

One of the buses had blown a tire and the staff and parents did some quick thinking.

“The decision was made to take the equipment and uniforms and truck them by parent vehicles while the students played the role of sardines in the other bus,” Munlin said.

The band members arrived in Grenada in plenty of time to warm up and make their performance. This year’s show features “Funk Favorites” and includes Isaac Hayes’ Theme from “Shaft,” featuring trumpet soloist James Floyd; Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good,” featuring trombone soloist Kevin Dao; and The Commodores’ “Brick House.”

When scores were announced the Topper Pride drum major, color guard, drum line and band were all awarded superior ratings for an overall rating of 1.

“Our students have been working hard, from the heat of the summer through non-stop rain and poor field conditions of the past few weeks, to prepare music and drill,” Shirey said. “That effort has paid off with positive recognition from respected band adjudicators.”

The Topper Pride band isn’t quite finished for the season and will continue to play their halftime show at the next two football game. They will cap the season with a performance at the Bandmaster’s Championship in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., on Oct. 31.