In a recent competition in Prattville, the Jemison High School Blue Regiment Band received the highest scores of the competition and earned the grand champion title.

“We were really surprised that we won,” senior Elijah English said. “We competed against some much larger schools so it was a shock to hear we won.”

The Heart of Dixie Marching contest was held Oct. 12 in the Stanley-Jensen Stadium in Prattville with seven bands competing.

The Blue Regiment, a 1A band, competed in the 3A class and was awarded superior ratings for band, color guard, percussion, drum major, dance line and majorettes.

The band also received best in class trophies for band, drum major, percussion and majorettes.

This year, the band’s contest show consists of four songs including “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend,” “Blues in the Night,” “42nd Street” and “Luck Be a Lady.”

The band also performs the show during each halftime throughout football season.

Band Director George Martin said it often varies on where the band goes for different competitions during football season.

“A lot of times it is hard for us to attend certain competitions if we have an away football game the night before,” Martin said.

For a group of 10 seniors, the grand champion title has been a work in progress since freshman year.

“We have worked really hard to win this title so it was really neat we were able to win our senior year,” Madison Smith said. “The win gave us a boost of confidence because most of the seniors have been working for this title for several years.”