HOUSTON - The Houston Topper band has had a busy fall, working on halftime shows and preparing for contests and saw their hard work pay off recently at the Chunky River Marching Classic in Union, MS. The band came home with an armful of trophies and a slate of superior ratings across the board.

The contest was split into two divisions with one including seventh and eighth graders and one for high school bands ninth grade-up only. Houston competed in the high school only division in the large class.

Following two previous competitions, the band and percussion were awarded superior ratings for a clean sweep of "ones" at contest.

"We were late bloomers this year," said Director Richard Shirey.

Shirey is in his first year at HHS and has worked to lead the band in a competitive direction.

"We're trying to keep current with the trends," Shirey said. "We're updating our show and trying to keep our level of performance up."

Since the completion of football season and fall contests, the band is not slowing down in their preparation for the Christmas season. Shirey is preparing for upcoming auditions for concert band and prepping his marchers for Christmas parades.

Shirey is also testing the waters for interest in a Winter Guard program. Winter Guard offers training in flag, dance, saber and rifle for special performances.

"this is a tool to keep our skills up," Shirey said. "It give us a chance to recruit and train new guard members."

The Winter Guard will be open to students in 9-11th grade and no prior dance or guard experience is necessary.

Following Christmas break, the band will be working on concert music for the State Festival to be held in March in Pearl. Shirey is also hoping to reactive the jazz band.

"We're continuously working and it take a lot of time," Shirey said. "It's going to stay busy.'