The Regiment of Gold (ROG) proudly represented Cerritos High School at SoFi Stadium for their first tournament appearance at the Western Band Association (WBA) since 2019. On Monday, Oct. 24, the ROG placed third in their division and fifth overall out of the other 25 participating bands.

    It was clear that stress was high in the air as students, staff, and parents alike hurried to pack and leave for SoFi. However, not even the bus breaking down or show hair catastrophes could prevent the ROG from reaching SoFi, and within hours, they were walking onto the field of the infamous Rams home stadium.

    We asked one of the ROG Color Guard staff, Hector Brambila, a well-experienced professional in the marching band community, how he felt about his students performing in a large venue for the first time. “For a high school group to do this at SoFi stadium, and something that’s so new, it’s just incredible.”

    After long hours of hard work and dedication, the ROG finally enjoyed the fruits of their labor. In a stadium large enough to fit up to 100,000 people in its stands, surrounded by friends and loved ones, the band performed their hearts out for this season’s performance, “Mindgames.”

    While they may not have won gold, it was an opportunity that left the ROG walking out of SoFi feeling proud and accomplished of their ventures. Katie Cha, the Senior head drum major, provided insight on what she thought after finishing their performance, “I think because we’re winning a lot of competitions, it makes it easy to think that we’re doing pretty good. So we just gotta make sure that the band knows we can always do better.” The ROG will be preparing itself for when the next competition rolls around on Nov. 4, to face whatever challenges they may meet next.