Weekend in Review, 4/19/2010

By Derby News Network, Last updated Wed Apr 21 2010 6:34pm

WFTDA Sanctioned | General Interleague | Local Action

General Interleague

Blitzburgh Bombers 77, Dutchland Blitz 82 -- The opener of the Dutchland/Steel City double header saw a very tight back-and-forth match-up of the B-teams. From the first whistle, it was clear that the Dutchland Blitz were bringing a speed game to the Bombers’ first home bout of the season. Dutchland jammers Ruthless Ness, Cleaverpatra, Punk Sue Tawney, and Blue Scream of Death sprinted off the line all match long, snatching leads in 19 of the 26 jams.

In the second jam of the night, only a great last-ditch block from Attaxl Rose kept Cleaverpatra from scoring a double grand slam as Dutchland staked an early 9-2 lead. Blitzburgh matchups of Dakota Slamming and Moxie Crimefighter versus Dutchland’s Rum N Choke almost evened the score to 25-22 by the first half’s midpoint. Perhaps reeling from a bit hit by Miss Ill, Rum N Choke did not jam for the rest of the bout.

Blitzburgh’s BB Basher laid big hits on both Blue Scream of Death and inadvertently, her own jammer, Elsie Thudd, then sat in the penalty box as the score closed to a Dutchland 28-26 lead. From that point on the Dutchland defense put a stranglehold on Blitzburgh and only allowed 3 more points in the last nine minutes of the half. Punk Sue Tawney also played great defense when she wasn’t jamming, and whipped Ruthless Ness for a 9-point score and a 49-29 halftime lead, despite the strong efforts of Bombers’ blockers Miss Ill and Madame Abageall.

The second half began with a slower pack and a powerjam which let Elsie Thudd rattle off 19 points for the Bombers to almost even the score at 50-48. Soon afterward, Dakota Slamming posted 8 to take the lead for Blitzburgh at 56-52. The speedy Cleaverpatra was able to even it at 56 and then Dutchland took back the lead at 63-56.

The next jam saw Blitzburgh recapture the lead at 69-64 with great defense by BB Basher and CC DeKill and a nice 13-point sprint through the pack by Moxie Crimefighter as the clock ticked to under ten minutes to go. Cleaverpatra deked past Trippin’ Daisy and Attaxl Rose to bring Dutchland back within 2 and then Blue Scream of Death took the lead while the backline of Dutchland shut out the Blitzburgh skaters for four straight jams. BB Basher, Mission Impassible, Attaxl Rose, and Moxie Crimefighter kept the Bombers in the game as time ticked down, but the score sat at 81-75 Dutchland with a minute and a half to go.

After a time-out and a last-second switch of Blitzburgh jammers, a crowded pack came around the third turn and Dutchland’s Marie Antoithreat initiated a pile-up with Dakota Slamming and Miss Ill, who landed very hard on her right shoulder. After an injury time out, and with a mere four seconds to go, Cleaverpatra iced the victory by capturing lead jammer for her seventh out of eight tries and called the bout at 82-77. -- Jessica Smith

Naptown Roller Girls Warning Belles 178, Ohio Roller Girls Gang Green 29 -- The Naptown Roller Girls and the Ohio Roller Girls met for the second time in five weeks for a double-header that pitted the NRG Warning Belles against the Columbus league’s Gang Green squad and the Tornado Sirens against OHRG’s All Stars. More than 4,000 fans packed the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to watch the home team’s last bout of their fourth season, with special guest Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard (freshly dubbed “Power Ballard” for his roller derby debut) in the crowd.

The B teams took the track first, with Naptown’s Jane Ire on the jammer line, poised for her return to roller derby after an eight-month hiatus. The opening jams proved highly physical, with both teams putting up such defensive battles that the score remained at 0-0 until Jane donned the star for the second time in jam 5, when she put the first 15 points on the board as the Ohio jammer sat in the box. With the NRG pump primed for scoring, the jammer lineup of Racer Xtasy, Willa Hoeflinch, and Trauma-Lina went to work on the Ohio pack. By halftime, the Belles had a solid 48-15 lead.

The second half saw more fierce front-of-the pack defense work for NRG under the direction of pivots Asian Sinsation, Noxious Donna, and Sookie Smackhouse, with blockers Jen X and the pocket-sized destroyer Eve Elle delivering Mack-truck hits. Gang Green skaters Handle Barz, Seoul Sister, and Dixie Heartless kept the Ohio pack on point, but the Belles’ strategy and well-honed teamwork helped them to control the pack speed, allowing their jammers to lap the pack jam after jam. The final score of 178 to 29 in Naptown’s favor capped off an undefeated season for NRG’s junior-varsity team. -- Valerie Hurtinelli

Ithaca BlueStockings 187, Assault City Roller Derby 106 -- Roughly 1500 fans came to see the Ithaca Bluestockings' debut bout against Syracuse’s Assault City Roller Derby’s new B travel team in the Ithaca League of Women Rollers' season-opening double header in Cortland, NY. Syracuse dominated the first few jams of the game. However, in jam 6, the Bluestockings took control and held onto the first spot for the rest of the game, with a generous lead at halftime of 101 to Assault City’s 56.

Coordinated teamwork between Bluestockings’ Thunder Vittles, Lady Dismantle, Jenna Vendetta, and their communicative pivot, Chrysteria, kept Assault City’s jammers from posing much of a threat in the second half, while BlueStockings' jammers Pl Anne B and Cold War continued to rack up points for Ithaca. When not jamming, AKT*47 played tough defense in the back.

Highlights from the Syracuse team include Raging Ruby forcing her way through the pack on several successful jams, with help from blockers Dixie Dregs, and Erynn Go Brawl. But it was Assault City’s Dolly Foxx who earned the most points for Assault City with 43 points over the course of the game. However, that was no match for Cold War’s incredible 95-point debut game! -- Sarabellum

See Marc Santos' photos.

Ithaca SufferJets 93, Roc City Travel Team 107 -- In the headline bout of this double-header, Ithaca’s veteran team, the Ithaca SufferJets, played their first home bout of the season against Rochester’s Roc City Roller Derby Travel Team after barely losing their first away bout of the season against Buffalo’s Queen City Suicidal Saucies (116- 128). Although it was Roc City’s first game of the season, they dominated the game with a fast pack that outskated the SufferJets, and a brutal hitting force of Roc City’s Lethal Lorelei and Stabbity Ann proved too much for Ithaca’s jammers.

SufferJet Brutal Vroom kept Roc City’s pack on their feet with her awesome combination of defensive and offensive blocking while playing her cleanest game ever. Her teammates Chairman Meow and HitsNGigglz played as a strong defensive duo, but suffered as Hits’ four majors in the second half kept her tied up in the box.

In jam 12 of the second half, as Roc City jammer Asa Clubs sat in the box, Golden Diapers’ power jam was cut short when her hand signal for her pack to slow down was misinterpreted as calling off the jam, robbing the SufferJets of much-needed points. The prematurely-ended jam left the SufferJets with a tiny three-point margin at 81-84, the closest score of the evening. However, when Asa Clubs emerged from the box in time for jam 13, she dominated Ithaca’s Sarabellum in a 9-0 jam from which the SufferJets never recovered.

With 35 seconds on the clock, jammer Sarabellum called her jam stragetically so fellow jammer Golden Diapers could play one more full jam, but Roc City‘s Thea Pocalypse earned lead jammer status, sealing Roc City's win.

Donning the star for Ithaca for the first time, rookie jammer Hooty McBooty had a stellar 7 point jam in the 15th jam of the first period, but it was SufferJet jammer Golden Diapers who kept her home crowd happy with a total of 51 points in the game, earned with her signature quick feet and effective jumps around opposing blockers.

Although Roc City’s points were nearly evenly distributed between jammers Asa Clubs, Thea Pocolypse, and Toxin Dioxin, Toxin Dioxin emerged as the team’s top jammer with an average of 4.22 points scored per jam throughout her 9 jams of the night.

Roc City heads home for their own home season opener on May 8th against Long Island Roller Rebels, while Ithaca will host their first-ever intra-league bout on May 16th. -- Sarabellum