On to Ford Field!

The Oiler Marching Band is headed to the state finals at Ford Field for the second year in a row.
Mt. Pleasant's "Socially Numb" show landed in seventh place -- the top 10 bands head for the finals.
Saturday’s Flight III competition begins at 4:35 p.m. The tentative performance time for Mt. Pleasant will be 5:20.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students and senior citizens, cash only. FordField.com lists presale prices of $14 and $10; call Call 313-262-2000 for more information.
Parking is $6 at Ford Field parking facilities

Here are the Michigan Competing Band Association Flight III Standings. Top 10 schools move to the state finals at Ford Field.

School--------------------------------Score-----Above/below bubble
1 Ferndale......................................80.075......12.952
2 Stevensville Lakeshore...............78.025.......10.900
3 Grand Rapids Northview.............76.100…....8.975
4 Farmington Harrison..................75.550........8.425
5 Marysville....................................74.350.......7.225
6 Byron Center...............................73.000.......5.875
7 Mt. Pleasant............................69.575.....2.75
8 Allegan.......................................69.550........2.425
9 Fruitport......................................69.175.......2.050
10 Redford Thurston......................67.125..........0

11 DeWitt.......................................67.075.....-0.050
12 Gibraltar Carlson.......................66.675......-0.450
13 Dearborn Hts Crestwood...........65.800.....-1.325
14 Linden........................................65.250......-1.875
15 Trenton......................................65.075.....-2.05
16 Hazel Park..................................63.600.....-3.525
17 St Clair Shores Lake Shore........59.250.....-7.875
18 St Clair Shores South Lake........57.875......-9.250
19 St Clair Shores Lakeview...........51.375.....-15.750

The field is full of veteran bands.

Ferndale didn’t quite match its phenomenal 80.65 performance at West Bloomfield, turning in a 79.5 to win at Huron Valley. Ferndale is defending champion, winning last year’s event with an 81.80.
Stevensville Lakeshore slid a bit, too. Lakeshore’s score slid from a 78.35 at Jenison to a 77.70 to win the Reeths-Puffer festival.
Lakeshore came into last year’s event with a top ranking, but was surprised by Ferndale. Lakeshore finished second last year with an 80.8.
Grand Rapids Northview continued to improve. It scored a 75.9 at Jenison and a 76.3 at Huron Valley. Northview is an experienced band, finishing fifth in Flight II last year.
Farmington Harrison’s got momentum. It scored a 73.85 at Clarkston, then rolled to a 77.25 at Huron Valley.
Harrison finished third last year at Ford Field.
Marysville is nothing if not consistent. The baseball show scored a 74.35 at West Bloomfield and precisely the same score to win at Durand.
Marysville came in ninth last year.
Byron Center’s best score was a week ago at Jenison; it lost a point at Reeths Puffer. This will be the Byron Center band’s first appearance at Ford Field.
Mt. Pleasant gained nearly three points during the last week of competition. Can the young Oilers keep that momentum?
Allegan’s coming on strong, adding 5.5 points over the last week. Allegan finished fifth last year.
Fruitport couldn’t quite break 70 at Reeth Puffer, scoring a 69.5 after scoring a 68.85 at Jenison. Fruitport finished 10th in 2006.
Redford Thurston squeaked into the top 10 with a 68.15 finish at Huron Valley to go with a 66.1 at West Bloomfield. That gave Thurston just enough – five one-hundredths of a point – to knock DeWitt out of the top 10.
The Thurston band came on strong last year and finished fourth at Ford Field.
Dewitt competed in only two events this year – it didn’t compete at all last year – and scored a 64.6 at Clarkston, followed by a 69.55 at Durand. So, so close, but they’ll get the refund, instead of the bus ride.
Two bands that competed in the Flight III finals last year won’t be there – Comstock Park and Trenton. Comstock Park made the finals in Flight IV this year, but Trenton missed the cut, finishing 15th in Flight III.