Chattooga High School graduate Jerico Carrillo will have the largest audience he has ever marched in front of today as he marches in the Independence Bowl game with the Vanderbilt Marching Band. Carrillo’s primary instrument is the flute, but when he marches he plays the trumpet.
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl was named because it was inaugurated in 1976, the United States bicentennial year. The 2016 matchup will include the Vanderbilt Commodores vs North Carolina State Wolfpack. The game will be broadcast today on ESPN2 at 5 p.m.
Chattooga’s band teacher Gene Greer had a profound impact of Carrillo:
“Without him, I don’t know what I’ll be doing with my life. For the longest time I thought I would go to Kennesaw State and do business because I thought making money in life would be the absolute goal. After having him as a teacher, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. He taught me so much in there year I had him and he continues to teach me. When I decided to become a music educator, he hopped on board and helped me through the process. Now I’m at Belmont University studying Music Education and marching with Vanderbilt University. That’s a huge accomplishment coming from small town Summerville, Georgia”