Members of Lloyd Memorial High School marching band practice their selection, "Where the Wild Things Are" in preperation for the state regional band competition this weekend. (Sarah Conard/The Enquirer)

IF YOU GO

What: KMEA marching band regional championship Where: Gene Daniels Stadium at Beechwood School, 54 Beechwood Road in Fort Mitchell When: Saturday . Bands perform every 15 minutes from noon to 7 p.m. Winners will be announced at 7:15 p.m. Cost: $8 per person. Tickets can be purchased only at the gate. Local bands' performance times: Lloyd (12:00), Dayton (12:45), Williamstown (1:00), Dixie (1:30) and Beechwood (5:45). For more information, call KMEA at (859) 626-5635 or visit www.kmea.org.

FORT MITCHELL - When high school bands hit the gridiron this weekend, a lot more than an entertaining halftime show will be at stake.

This is the 20th year of the Kentucky Music Educators Association state marching band championships. The regional finals are Saturday at four locations across the state, including the Class A competition at Beechwood.

Local Class A bands competing are Beechwood, Dayton, Dixie Heights, Lloyd Memorial and Williamstown high schools. They and 21 other bands will fight for the top eight spots and a berth in the semifinals competition in western Kentucky next weekend. Highlands (Class AA) and Campbell County (Class AAAA) high schools have already advanced to the semifinals in their classes.

Bands will perform a 6-10 minute piece. It's serious competition.

"It's very intense," said Daniel Maley, 16, a trumpet player at Lloyd. "Everyone wants to make it to the next step, and nothing's going to stand in their way."

Lloyd was in the state semifinals last year but fell short of advancing to the finals. The band is much younger this year with no seniors, but still has high ambitions.

"I always tell my kids that each week I want them to do better than the week before," said Lloyd band director Randy Webb. "You just do your best. You never know what those six people in the box are going to think."

The six in the box are the judges, who evaluate musical and visual performance. They won't have an easy job.

"These bands have been working on their performances for seven or eight weeks," said Robert Hartwell, executive director of KMEA. "They've massaged it. They've changed it. They're all pretty darn good at this point."

Dixie Heights fell less than a point short of advancing to the semifinals last year. Nearly half of last year's band graduated in June, but the group has been scoring higher this year than last.

E-mail wcroyle@enquirer.com