By Barbara Heninger

Jubilant Spartans carry drum major Isaac Giron and their trophies off the field at the Lodi competition.

Mountain View High School’s Spartan Marching Band capped off the season by sweeping the awards at the 39th annual Grape Bowl Festival in Lodi Nov. 5.

The band won the top honor, the Grape Bowl Classic Perpetual Award, the “Lady of Lodi,” for the highest scores in the combined field show and parade events. Twenty-three bands from Northern California and one band from Utah competed for the honors.

“I always say this and I always mean it: This was the best season by far,” said band director Robin Kramer.

The Spartan field show, “Midnight in Transylvania,” was the hit of the evening’s events and featured the color guard dressed as vampires jumping out of coffins. It earned the Field Show Sweepstakes award and three more sweepstakes trophies for best visual effects, general effects and music, as well as the First Place Field Show Auxiliary award for the guard. The band also won the First Place Parade and First Place Parade Auxiliary, Class B trophies.

Drum majors Isaac Giron, Jordan Haedtler and Karen Fujii led the show. Giron took home both the First Place Parade Drum Major and First Place Field Show Drum Major awards.

“It’s just been win, win, win, win,” Kramer said of this season.

The band also swept the awards at the recent Foothill Band Review in Pleasanton on Oct. 22, earning the Parade and Field Show Champion Grand Sweepstakes award and six other honors.

When told the band had earned 16 trophies between the two events, Kramer joked, “I’ve heard of a baker’s dozen, but this is ridiculous.”