#4 Texas Puts Away #8 Boston, 118-84

By Ruby Khan, Last updated Thu Jun 25 2009 2:58pm

BOSTON, MA -- The Texecutioners wrapped up a three-bout northeastern weekend with a 118-84 victory over a steady Boston Massacre. With teams trading lead through the first period and a stream of grand slams and power jams on both sides, it remained anyone’s game until the final minutes.

Live coverage of this bout was sponsored by Black Eyed Susan Skate Shop and Roller Warriors. Read the play by play in the archived boutcast liveblog from Ruby Khan and Slack Kerowhack.

Boston was first on the board with a modest 3-point jam from MVP KrushPuppy. TXRG’s Bloody Mary answered with 9 of her own but the early advantage was with the home team when, in jam #5, KrushPuppy turned in 19 points while Rice Rocket was in the box on a cutting major alongside Crackerjack.

Texas chipped away at that differential over the next four jams, but the teams traded narrow leads for much of the rest of the period.  MVP Friction VixXxen and Bullet Tooth Tracy led a stellar defensive effort for the Texecutioners, effectively slowing the pack to a crawl as their jammer approached, and reabsorbing Boston jammers moments before they were about to break free from the pack.

With eight minutes remaining in the first period and KrushPuppy stuck in the pack, TXRG’s Lucille Brawl cracked it wide open for the visitors with a massive 24-point jam. The score, hovering around a 43-43 tie for the previous four jams, turned decisively back to Texas’s favor and they ended the period 72-51.

Local fans have been used to seeing Boston hold the front line, with skaters like Shellby Shattered and Lois Carmen Dominator acting like fly paper for opposing blockers and often maintaining a few strides’ distance from the rest of the pack. Texas seemed to have the front-edge advantage this night, and whips that would normally have propelled a Massacre jammer into the clear were met with lightning-speed reengagement from the likes of VixXxen and Desi Cration. Only KrushPuppy seemed able to slice through unscathed—she scored 57 of the Massacre’s total 84 points.

The second period played out much like the first, but with fewer of the grand slams that added fuel to both the Massacre’s and Texecutioners’ early runs. The penalty box timers were kept company by regular visits from both teams as minor penalties accrued and blockers went big with their hits. Boston blockers Piña Collidah, Pussy Venom, and Anna WrecksYa all connected on solid hits that served to slow Texas’s pace, but couldn’t stop the score from creeping slowly out of reach.

In the final six minutes, with Texas up by 44, Boston had two shots at closing in. Penalties and power jams had contributed to a near-upset in Texas’s game against Charm City earlier in the day, and it looked as if Boston may have the same opportunity to come from behind. First Rice Rocket went to the box, leaving Triple Deck-Her jamming unopposed for Boston. Unfortunately she was up against one of the few full four-on-four packs of the period, and between Belle Starr’s killer outside lean and Kat A. Killzem’s booty blocking, was only able to manage one 5-point pass before Rice’s return and the end of the jam. Immediately afterward, Krush found herself unopposed as Bloody Mary was boxed on a major forearm call, but again could only manage 5 points before Bloody bounded back into play.

At the whistle the final score stood at 118-84 in Texas’s favor, bringing their road trip standing to 2-1 and giving the Massacre their fourth loss in an ambitious 2009 season. The Massacre goes on to play Windy City and a hotly anticipated bout against Carolina at ECE next weekend. The Texecutioners take a long break before playing the Bay Area Derby Girls on September 6.

Preceding the interleague action was a Boston local bout between the Cosmonaughties and the favored Nutcrackers. An extremely strong first period from the Cosmos saw a nervous Nuts squad up by only 7 at the half, but a second period rally led to another big Nutcrackers victory. The Cosmos’ Bedlam Belle was MVP for her precision positional blocking, and the Nuts’ fast and physical jammer Lil’ Paine grabbed the honor for her team. The final score was 129-74 with the Nuts now 3-0 and the Cosmos 0-3 for the season. The next bout at Shriners has the Massacre taking on Duke City before the Nutcrackers go up against the Wicked Pissahs on July 18.

Photos: Chris Chin