SCOTTSVILLE — Some local high schools’ marching bands went from halftime entertainment Friday night to a competitive arena Saturday afternoon.

Both Warren East High School and South Warren High School competed Saturday in the Kentucky Music Educators Association Class AAA semifinals at Allen County-Scottsville High School.

Schools from around the state competed at four area high schools, as well as Houchens-Smith Stadium at Western Kentucky University. The top four bands from each class then competed in the finals Saturday night at WKU. Results from the finals competition were unavailable at press time.

Greenwood High School and Warren Central performed in the AAA semifinals Saturday at Glasgow High School.

At ACS on Saturday, the parking lot was dotted with semi-trucks, school buses and all-terrain vehicles towing instruments around campus.

On the field, South Warren presented “Revolution and Triumph 1776,” which featured patriotic themes.

“We’ve had a great season and I’m proud of their accomplishments,” said Chris Cecil, SWHS band director. “Being a part of the band family, I think we have one of the best organizations in the school system, and I’m excited about being a part of it.”

SWHS is in just its second year of existence, which presents its own challenges for the band.

“I think getting a lot of equipment and establishing expectations was a big deal,” SWHS drum major Rachel Eberhart said.

Eberhart, along with fellow drum major Paul Vickous, stood near the band’s buses after their performance Saturday. The roughly 10-minute performance was a culmination of hours of work dating back to the summer.

“There’s an amount of effort, attitude and dedication like there is in all sports,” Eberhart said. “But ours is on a musical level. We put in the same, if not more, hours as the other teams do.”

Warren East’s show was all about what the band stands for, according to director Johnathan Cline.

The show was titled “Who We Are.”

“One of our big goals is to do better than we’ve done before or to best what we’ve done,” Cline said. “Just to represent Warren East well and put on a good performance.”

For band members, the day goes far beyond the performance.

Cline was at the high school at 6:45 a.m. Saturday, prior to a 7:30 a.m. rehearsal. From there, it was on to Allen County-Scottsville. One parent stopped to ask Cline when the band should be expected back at Warren East. Cline said after midnight.

“There’s a lot more time that goes into this than people think,” Cline said.

Just like Warren East, Cecil said South Warren puts plenty of hours in.

“It takes many, many hours to produce the end product what people will see,” Cecil said. “And when the kids come off their field, our goal is for them to feel that finished product feeling and that exhilaration of the performance. And we had a little bit of that feeling today.”