Article by Greg Jaklewicz
Photos Courtesy of WylieSports.com
Join us for a community rally as we cheer on the Wylie Pure Gold Band and Color Guard before they take the field for the UIL Region Marching Competition!
When: Monday, Oct. 20 | 5:00–5:15 PM
Where: Wylie High School parking lot (near the stadium)
Bring your signs, wave those flags, and honk those horns as we send our band off in Bulldog style. Then follow us to Shotwell Stadium to see the Pure Gold Band perform at 7:00 PM!
Wylie High School Band Marches “Into the Unknown”
The Wylie High School band has been marching toward Monday.
After months of preparation, Wylie will present its 2025 show “Into the Unknown” before judges at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
Wylie will march at 7:15 p.m., with the two Abilene schools to follow. The goal: earn a 1 rating and advance to the area round on Nov. 1 in Andrews.
Last year, Wylie earned that distinction, reaching the finals and finishing seventh. Depending on results, four bands are expected to move on to the state competition, Nov. 10–12, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Tough Competition Ahead
The Leander ISD bands dominated the 2024 contest, taking the top three spots. Frisco schools Wakeland and Lone Star also finished in the top six, with Aledo in between.
From Wylie’s current district in football, only Lubbock-Cooper has recently advanced to the Alamodome — in 2023 and 2021 — falling short of finals both times.
Pure Gold director Kyle McDonald believes this year’s band has the talent and drive to become Wylie’s first Class 5A band to advance to state.
“We’re in the big leagues, for sure,” McDonald said.
Wylie made the Class 4A contest in 2014 but did not reach the finals before moving up to 5A.
“This is the fun part of the year,” McDonald said. “The show is complete and it’s time to polish the stone, hoping to make it sparkle.”
Senior drum major McKenna Herberg added,
“Attention to detail—and the willingness to put in the work.”
Marching for State Every Year
Before 2023, bands marched for state honors only every other year. Now, all six classifications compete annually.
McDonald said there are benefits and challenges. The biggest plus: every class can pursue a state title each year, meaning no senior misses that chance. The drawback: the cost and intensity of maintaining UIL-level productions annually.
“The time and intensity of trying to keep it up all the time,” he said.
If Wylie earns a 1 rating Monday, the band will head to Andrews with seven buses and 185 members — the largest marching band in Abilene — plus equipment semis.
“It’s akin to moving an army into position,” McDonald said.
The Show: “Into the Unknown”
Football fans have caught glimpses at halftime, but now the full show takes center stage.
The concept began as “Leap of Faith” — a story about taking chances and trusting yourself through life’s next step. That evolved into the current title, “Into the Unknown.”
“You have to decide, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I trust myself, my family, and my faith,’” McDonald said.
The music, drawn from Frozen, Wicked, and other cinematic sources, features selections such as “Defying Gravity” and music by composer Rossano Galante (Venom, The Super Mario Bros. Movie). It closes with subtle notes of the hymn “It Is Well.”
Senior drum major Ryson Wilson said the show’s musical depth and movement “has come a long way and is written very well.”
A Band Built on Heart and Hard Work
Pure Gold’s 185-member roster includes 70 freshmen and 55 sophomores — nearly 70% of the band — and two all-state musicians, Maddox and Lincoln Humphries.
Herberg, also a Homecoming queen finalist, has a trumpet solo during the show. McDonald recalled the moment she played it in her gown:
“That was beautiful… we told the eighth-graders to check this out.”
Herberg and Wilson, both in band since sixth grade, help anchor the group.
“Every year, since my freshman year, we’ve placed higher and higher,” Herberg said. “It’s been cool to see that growth. Mr. McDonald is a big reason for that.”
Wilson added that the difference this year is focus:
“Just a couple of minor tweaks will set us apart. We’re prepared for Monday night.”
The Final Push
As the band heads to competition, fatigue is real — but so is drive.
“Everyone’s tired,” Herberg said, “but the bands that make it push through that.”
By Monday night, after hundreds of hours of practice, “Into the Unknown” will meet its audience — and its moment.
“I like where we’re at right now,” McDonald said.