The Saint Paul’s Marching Wolves are on track to have their biggest group in Saint Paul’s history. Their second-ever state championship opportunity is coming up soon this year, and expectations and effort are the highest they’ve been in decades.

The band currently stands at under 100 members, the highest it has been since the COVID-19 pandemic, and recruiting is still ramping up. Including the Golden Blues, the Marching Wolves’ dance team, the total member count stands at 130 as of Sept. 16, 2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a critical blow to the band and its member count in 2020. The pandemic caused many middle schools to temporarily shut down their music programs, resulting in a lack of musical experience among students at the time, which discouraged people from joining the band.

The Marching Wolves’ member count had dropped to 80 as a result. There were fewer than 10 seniors in the band in the Class of 2025. That aforementioned class of members who were in eighth grade during the COVID-19 year has graduated, opening up new space for a whole new and full-sized wave of excited eighth graders to join, along with any other new freshmen and returning Saint Paul’s students who are interested in the band.

In addition, the Marching Wolves also competed in their first-ever state championship marching competition last year, held at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. In their division, the Wolves earned 1st place in General Effect, 2nd Place in Percussion, and 4th overall. They also were awarded the highest honor a band can receive at the competition: Superior Overall and Superior Percussion.

The Marching Wolves are motivated to win the first band championship in school history after realizing many of the mistakes made last year were minor.

Saint Paul’s freshman Claude Zeringue is one of these motivated members, having completed one full year with the Marching Wolves and participated in a state championship. He has observed a good sense of preparedness among the new eighth graders as well as freshmen, and is determined to claim the state title.

He believes, like many others in the band, the biggest mistake holding the band back from winning state was cumulative small mistakes and a lack of seniors.

“I felt like the training was pretty good. There were some mistakes we could’ve fixed up, though,” Zeringue said.

Marching Wolves band director Mr. Andrew Moran is fired up for this year, especially after seeing the potential that last year’s group had. Although he is satisfied with last year’s results, Moran aims to win it all this year.

“We got what we earned, we could’ve done things a little differently, but since it was the first year we ever did it, we didn’t know what to expect,” Moran explained.

Moran also claims this is the most progress he has ever seen the band make this early in the year in his entire 15+ year career with the Marching Wolves.

This year, the upperclassmen are especially driven to win state for the band before their time is up. They’ve spread this drive and hunger for the title throughout the whole band, leading to motivation among members being at an extreme high.

In addition to the upperclassmen, the drum majors have been fired up as well.

Senior drum major Connor Russo is ready once again to take on the state’s best competition.

“I am proud of the awards that we won last year, especially given that it was our first time in a competition like this, but I’m holding a higher expectation for the band’s drive for the competition this year,” Russo said.

Furthermore, he believes that the little things were what held the band back from claiming a state title, and that the title can be achieved through teamwork and dedication. “It requires the involvement and drive of everyone as a unit to succeed at state this year,” Russo explained.

The new junior drum major, Owen Argueta, is just as hyped for both the tournament and the year ahead. “My goal for this year is to be a servant leader and for the band to reciprocate that leadership down the line,” Argueta explained.

He is also ready to conquer the championship this year, taking last year’s results and using them as motivation to excel further. “We did well, but we’re gonna do better this year,” Argueta said.

The Marching Wolves have made record-breaking progress so far this year, and they are seeking to overhaul their traditional methods for shows, revamping the pregame show, and performing a complex, formation-centric halftime show earlier in the year than ever before.

These plans have already been put into practice, with the Marching Wolves already learning and drilling their shows merely two weeks into the year. In fact, they have already performed with a full formation and show drill at halftime for their very first game and first home game of the year, something that the band usually does not achieve until multiple months into the season. This same show was performed at their first away game and was polished even more for the game the following week.

The band has already performed at two football games this season, not including the opening jamboree. Their first performance was at the Saint Paul’s vs. Live Oak game at Live Oak Stadium, and their first full home football game was on Sept. 12, 2025.

The Marching Wolves have opened the year with very strong and outstanding performances, setting the tone for what the band hopes is to come: a state championship.

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Photo Credit: George Ott, Marching Wolves Photographer