With an inspired performance that increased the corps' score by .8 over Semifinals, The Cavaliers scored 98.0 to take the lead heading into Finals. The corps earned the highest scores in Visual and Overall GE, Ensemble Visual, Ensemble, Percussion and Overall Music, earning perfect scores in three sub-captions. (See the accompanying recap for more details.) However, the corps was third in Performance Visual and Brass Music.Blue Devils stayed ahead of The Cadets, 97.5 to 97.2, with both corps close enough to first place that Saturday night could belong to any of the top corps that keep their collective heads about them and give the performance of their lives. Blue Devils took highest scores in Performance Visual, Color Guard, and Overall Visual, and Brass Music, with two perfect sub-caption scores. The Cadets took home highest scores in Music GE, and placed second in Visual and Overall GE, Performance Visual, and Brass and Percussion Music.Santa Clara Vanguard has remained in 4th place for now, but the corps' score of 95.4 is now only .8 over Glassmen's 5th place score of 94.6. SCV took third in Ensemble Music, but fifth in Visual GE, all three Visual captions, and Percussion Music. Glassmen's top placement was third in Percussion Music. Phantom Regiment's 6th place score of 91.55 is just .4 over Crossmen's 7th place score of 91.15.Eighth place was awarded to Bluecoats with a 90.15, followed by Boston Crusaders in 9th place (89.05). Without the timing penalties that plagued both corps in Quarterfinals, Madison Scouts moved up to 10th place (87.8) and Carolina Crown moved up to 11th place (87.6). Colts made it back into Finals after a year off by capturing 12th place with an 85.95, helped by a 9th place Percussion Music score.Knocking on the door of Finals for the first time since 1990, Spirit of JSU's 84.05 demonstrated that the corps must be reckoned with in the immediate future. Blue Knights fell out of Finals for only the second time since first becoming a finalist in 1991, ending in 14th place with an 83.9. Southwind's 80.05 earned the corps 15th place, and the two Division II corps that overpowered some Division I corps finished in 16th and 17th; Mandarins (79.3) continuing their lead over Seattle Cascades (78.3).Check your local television listings to see if Finals will be carried live in your city, or check the PBS link within this web site.