Miami-Dade’s high school marching bands make a joyful noise

Miami, Florida - Turns out John Phillip Sousa , the cowboy in the Village People and Lady Gaga have something in common.

All three figure prominently in South Florida high schools’ marching band’s repertoires. Sousa’s familiar march, The Washington Post, meets the disco wedding party staple, YMCA. But the combination isn’t a bad romance for the kids in the band — or the audience in the stands.

“Last year we did Lady Gaga; we did Bad Romance, and that was interesting,” says a laughing Andrea Villegas, lead drum major for the John A. Ferguson Senior High’s Mighty Falcon Band. The football team liked it, but it’s still weird listening to a marching band playing Lady Gaga.” Weird, perhaps, but don’t knock the sweet sounds of success.

Several South Florida high school marching bands are racking up honors in statewide competitions with their high-stepping blends of old and new. Some students use marching band as a platform to attend college. Many of the bands feature...

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Sanford Seminole (FL) stuns Miami Northwestern for 6A Florida Football State Title

Sanford (FL) Seminole High School spots Miami Northwestern 21 points before fighting back to shock the Bulls for the 6A Football State Championship.


PHOTOS: Seminole stuns Northwestern 28-21

Andre Debose's 40-yard touchdown catch with 33 seconds left lifts Seminole to 1st state title.

Andre Debose labeled it a leap of faith. The Seminole senior went up against Miami Northwestern defensive back Tevin McCaskill with time running out and came down clutching the ball, a touchdown and a championship Saturday night. Debose's tumbling catch on a 40-yard bomb from Aravious "Ray Ray" Armstrong with 33 seconds remaining gave Seminole (13-2) a 28-21 victory over Miami Northwestern (13-2) in a Class 6A state championship thriller seen by an announced paid crowd of 12,764 at the Citrus Bowl.

"I just concentrated and when I grabbed the ball I squeezed it with all my life," Debose said. "It was like God came down with me too." Northwestern scored on the first play of the game and on its first three possessions to go up 21-0 and threatened to roll up another rout a year after it beat Boone 41-0 in the 2007 final. But Seminole, just as it had done after trailing 10-0 at the half against Boone last week, fought back. "We was down last week, we was down this week. We know how to handle adversity," said senior Dyron Dye, who capped a night of big plays with a sack of Northwestern quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on the final play.

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Amazing! My ole high school, Seminole High School (Sanford, Florida) wins the state championship over the legendary Miami Northwestern Bulls and Coach Billy Rolle, a FAMU Hall of Famer. The boys from "Goldsboro" finally put it together to win it all. Look like Seminole developed a good crop of Division I seniors that would be a nice fit at Florida A&M University, under Coach Joe Taylor and his outstanding staff.

Choose Florida A&M University--Andre Debose and Aravious "Ray Ray" Armstrong. I did!

(beepbeep)

Rolle reloads Miami Northwestern for another title run

MIAMI -- Tyresse Jones, the sinewy running back from Miami Northwestern High, was pondering his future Friday. He was concerned for the dearth of college interest when coach Billy Rolle emerged from the office.

"Here you go," said Rolle, tossing a bundle of mail with nearly 50 college pitch letters and offers. "Now you have choices, Tyresse."

With that the torch was passed. Jones felt like a hot prospect, knowing he'll have multiple college choices. "It feels good," said Jones, while smiling. "I didn't know where I stood (with colleges)."

Miami Northwestern High School Bulls (FL) vs. South Lake Carroll High School Dragons (TX) - 2007



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Former Rattler Billy Rolle was inducted into the Florida A&M University Hall of Fame in 2003.