The South Portland Red Riot Marching Band finished its Maine Band Directors Association 2009 season with a gold medal for the fourth consecutive year.  
At the MBDA finals Halloween night at Marshwood High School, South Portland was the only Maine high school band to finish with a gold medal. Two other high school bands, Dover and Salem, N.H., also scored gold.
The Red Riots began its 2009 marching band season in August with a 10-day “band camp” under the direction of Craig Skeffington and his marching band staff.  The 75 students involved learned their music and the choreography for this year’s program, “The Planets,” with music by Gustav Holst.  Over the past several months, the band and color guard worked tirelessly with the season’s-end goal of a gold.
The Red Riot Marching Band competed in the New England Scholastic Band Association finals in Bridgewater, Mass. Nov. 1, finishing with gold medal.  Also, the percussion section took first place in its division.