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37th Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands Rankings: Ocean of Soul vs. Marching Storm

Ranking the 37th Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands performances from Texas Southern and Prairie View.
Kyle T. Mosley|
37th Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands Rankings: Ocean of Soul vs. Marching Storm
37th Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands Rankings: Ocean of Soul vs. Marching Storm

The halftime show on Blackshear Field at Prairie View A&M was an excellent showcase by Texas Southern's "Ocean of Soul" and Prairie View A&M's "Marching Storm" marching bands.

TSU is considerably smaller band than PV's, but they have a clean sound and march with great technique.  

The Ocean of Soul Band Director, Dr. Juvon Pollard, was trained in New Orleans and had my old bandmaster Lloyd Harris Jr. as a mentor. You could hear the Big Easy influence in the drum cadences and performance style.

The Ocean of Soul is developing into an entertaining and competitive marching band, and the SWAC should beware.

Dr. Timmey T. Zachery had the Marching Storm ready to entertain the home crowd at the 37th Labor Day Classic. The five drum majors converged at mid-field, twirling, high-stepping, and tossing the batons behind their backs to the other drum majors in the opener. 

The Storm's energy and technical precision in their entire field routine set them apart from TSU. It was a stark contrast from last week's National Battle of the Bands performance I witnessed.

Each band's dance routines weren't unique, but the Marching Storm won that segment for the night.

The Black Foxes (Prairie View) versus Motion of Ocean dance teams were beautiful, elegant, mesmerizing, and brought it! I had both units at a tie.

Both marching squads' sounds blared and blasted Panthers Stadium in the humid night air as they gave fans a fantastic "Fifth Quarter" to remember. I possibly missed it, but I didn't see the drumlines go head-to-head.

Overall, the Marching Storm won. If the Ocean of Soul ever increases in numbers, the future outcomes may be visibly different at the LDCs.

2022 NBOTB RATINGS AND RANKINGS

I analyzed each band's show and gave my score from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest, for each marching component the bands exhibited.

BANDMARCHING PROCESSIONS/DOWNFIELD PROGRESSIONSENTERTAINMENTDANCE ROUTINEDANCE UNITDRUM MAJORSSOUNDCOMMAND/FAN ENGAGEMENTFIFTH QUARTEROVERALL POINTS

OCEAN OF SOUL

8.5

8.5

9

9

9

9

8.5

9

70.5 PTS

MARCHING STORM

9.5

9

8.5

9

9.5

9

9.5

9

73.0 PTS

FAN POLL

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Kyle T. Mosley
KYLE T. MOSLEY

I am Kyle T. Mosley, the Founder, Managing Editor, and Chief Reporter for the HBCU Legends. Former founder and publisher of the Saints News Network, and Pelicans Scoop on SI since October 2019.  Morehouse Alum, McDonogh #35 Roneagles (NOLA), Drum Major of the Tenacious Four.  My Father, Mother, Grandmother, Aunts and Uncles were HBCU graduates! Host of "Blow the Whistle" HBCU Legends, "The Quad" with Coach Steward, and "Bayou Blitz" Podcasts. Radio/Media Appearances:  WWL AM/FM Radio in New Orleans (Mike Detillier/Bobby Hebert),  KCOH AM 1230 in Houston (Ralph Cooper), WBOK AM in New Orleans (Reggie Flood/Ro Brown), and 103.7FM "The Game" (Jordy Hultberg/Clint Domingue), College Kickoff Unlimited (Emory Hunt), Jeff Lightsly Show, and Offscript TV on YouTube. Television Appearance: Fox26 in Houston on The Isiah Carey Factor, College Kickoff Unlimited (Emory Hunt). My Notable Interviews:  Byron Allen (Media Mogul), Deion Sanders (Collegiate Head Coach), Drew Brees (Former NFL QB), Mark Ingram (NFL RB), Terron Armstead (NFL OL), Jameis Winston (NFL QB), Cam Newton (NFL QB), Cam Jordan (NFL), Demario Davis (NFL), Allan Houston (NBA All-Star), Deuce McAllister (Former NFL RB), Chennis Berry (Collegiate Head Coach), Johnny Jones (Collegiate Head Coach), Tomekia Reed (Women's Basketball Coach), Tremaine Jackson (Collegiate Head Coach), Taylor Rooks (NBA Reporter), Swin Cash (Former VP of Basketball - New Orleans Pelicans), Demario and Tamala Davis (NFL Player), Jerry Rice (Hall of Famer), Doug Williams (HBCU & NFL Legend), Emmitt Smith (Hall of Famer), James "Shack" Harris (HBCU & NFL Legend), Cris Carter (Hall of Famer), Solomon Wilcots (SiriusXM NFL Host), Steve Wyche (NFL Network), Jim Trotter (NFL Network), Travis Williams (Founder of HBCU All-Stars, LLC), Malcolm Jenkins (NFL Player), Willie Roaf (NFL Hall of Fame), Jim Everett (Former NFL Player), Quinn Early (Former NFL Player), Dr. Reef (NFL Players' Trainer Specialist), Nataria Holloway (VP of the NFL). I am building a new team of journalists, podcasters, videographers, and interns.  For media requests, interviews, or interest in joining HBCU Legends, please contact me at kmosley@hbcusi.com. Follow me:

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