Northern High Band Brings Home National Championship

Northern High Marching Band Brings National Championship Title Home To Calvert — Photo Credit: NHS Band Boosters Facebook

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Northern High School Marching Band captured first place at the USBands Group 1AA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, capping an outstanding season with a national title.

Northern’s show earned an impressive 91.0, edging out Chopticon High School with 90.4 and West Chester East High School with 90.1, according to official USBands results. The Marching Patriots also achieved a season-high score, capturing awards for Best Visuals and Best Overall Effect — marking an exceptional finish to their 2025 season.

This national title comes just a week after Northern and Chopticon shared top honors as Maryland 1A state co-champions at the 2025 Maryland & Virginia USBands State Championships in Towson. At that event, held Nov. 1 at Paul Russo Stadium at Calvert Hall College High School, both bands scored 88.3 to share the state title.

La Plata High School, rounding out Southern Maryland’s representation, placed seventh nationally with a score of 87.0, reinforcing the region’s growing reputation for excellence in competitive marching-band performance.

Together, Northern (Calvert County), Chopticon (St. Mary’s County), and La Plata (Charles County) led the field of Group 1AA contenders—demonstrating that Southern Maryland continues to set the tempo for high-school marching-band success across the Mid-Atlantic.