By Derby News Network, Last updated Tue Jul 20 2010 3:57am

WFTDA Sanctioned | General Interleague | Men's Derby | Local Action

WFTDA Sanctioned

#4 Philly 161, #14 Steel City 63 -- Philadelphia established early that their front wall, led by Sunshine Skate and Shenita Stretcher, was going to control the pace of this bout, taking a 19-0 lead. The Crippler put a great move on Castro to become Steel Hurtin's first lead jammer but an ill-timed skate malfunction blew the scoring opportunity. 'Snot Rocket Science, skating like she had decided to take the team on her back, scored 10 points to halve the gap. At this point the game started to get rough with two to four skaters seemingly in the box jam after jam. The Liberty Belles were able to kill off powerjams with speed and shorthanded walls holding back Steel Hurtin' jammers while Steel Hurtin' countered by pulling back to slow down skaters returning in-bounds. As the fifteen-minute mark passed the score was 47-18 Philadelphia.

A 19-0 powerjam for Philly speedster Persephone here moved the lead from solid to overwhelming, and although scoring was nearly even for the remainder of the half, Philly enjoyed a 86-36 advantage at the break.

Steel Hurtin' coaches BArf and Temporary Sanity unveiled a new strategy for the second half focused on brief jams. 'Snot Rocket Science led the scoring before getting blown out like a candle by birthday girl Heavy Flo, narrowing the lead to 94-53. The Liberty Belles reasserted their pack control, led by a triple take-out by Heavy Flo, and Shenita Stretcher stretched the lead back to 111-57. Despite having multiple skaters serving penalties, the shorthanded 2-woman walls of Philadelphia kept the Steel Hurtin' jammers in check. Persephone racked up another 8 and with 15 minutes to go, the score was 119-61.

With both packs skating at breakneck speed, Shenita Stretcher took advantage of a great trap to score a big 9. As Teflon Donna headed to the box after a huge back block, 'Snot Rocket Science again shot through the pack with a head of steam looking to make a last desperate attempt to narrow the lead when a referee misinterpreted her arm movement as calling off the jam. This last bit of bad luck broke the team's back as her two points would be the last Steel Hurtin' would score this night. Philadelphia's speed killed off the penalty as the new jam started and a cut by Cheeseburger, unable to stop herself after a good hit to the inside, set up Teflon Donna to score 15 on her own powerjam.

There was virtually no scoring again until Mo Pain racked up 9 on the final jam after period time had expired. Despite the 98-point final difference, the bout was highly contested and incredibly tense and exciting. - Michael Frighten'd

Tampa Bay 104, #22 Dallas 101 -- In the semifinal of the Rocket City Rumble tournament, #3 seed Tampa had to defeat Dixie to reach a fresh Dallas team, but Dallas' bye didn't help them hold off a Tampa team on a mission. Looking for revenge for a contentious loss earlier this year at Franky Panky, Tampa barely came out on top of a bout-long series of back-and-forth jams, 104-101, in a final that further scrambles what's shaping up to be a serious battle for the top three spots in this fall's WFTDA South Central regional tournament.

A early 13-13 tie led into a 23-22 Tampa lead, but they'd lose it to Hot 4 Teacher when Tampa's squad sent two blockers to the penalty box, giving up a grand slam and making it Dallas 30, Tampa 27. The intensity in this match was consistently ratcheted up as each point became a battle with strong blocking from Harazzis Mine and Mona Bruiser for Dallas matched by that of Bettie Kruger and Leia Flat for Tampa. All the while, the revolving chair penalty box carried on, giving neither team an advantage nor even the lead at the half (53-53).

Things changed quickly in the second half, as Little A grabbed an early lead for Tampa at 58-53. Next up, Dallas jammer Miley Virus, caught behind a Killigan, Kruger and Bopabitch wall, could only watch as A and Susie proceeded to extend Tampa's lead to 70-55.

With 15 minutes to go it was Tampa 89, Dallas 62, but just when it looked like Tampa Bay might pull comfortably ahead, though, Dallas started a 33-3 comeback run,

Miley Virus gained her revenge when she brought in a 7-1, thereby doubling her teams' scoring output since the break in just one jam. Virus was followed by a Roxie la Roo jam just big enough to scare the Tantrums into calling a time-out with a 92-73 lead and 11 minutes to play. 

Undaunted, Miley Virus continued cutting into Tampa's lead. Tampa gave up an 8-0 power jam that made it 92-81 Tampa, and Roxie la Roo jam completed the comeback with a huge 14-0, giving Dallas the lead back at 95-92 with just over 6 minutes left to play.

Unfortunately for Dallas, six minutes was about one minute too long to hold on to that lead. With enough time for one more jam and the score 101-95 Dallas, penalties again took their toll and Tampa's Little A got to enjoy a power jam at Dallas' expense.  Proving why she's one of Tampa's most dangerous jammers, Little A scored the 9-0 needed to seal Dallas' fate -- and though Little A fouled her way to the box at the very end of the jam, there wasn't enough time for Dallas' Hot 4 Teacher to score. -- Timothy Blaszka

Read the archived boutcast.

Original version of this article on the Tampa Bay Roller Derby Examiner.

Tampa Bay 187, Dixie 47 -- Still smarting over their two losses at the East Coast Extravaganza (here and here), the Tampa Tantrums travelled to Alabama for Rocket City Rumble II looking for vindication and... Dallas.  In roller derby, as in all sports, never underestimate how large a role revenge can play as a motivator. But first they'd have to go through tournament hostesses Dixie Derby Girls -- a task Tampa wasted no time accomplishing, handily winning the bout 187-41.

Hitting Dixie with everything they had early on -- namely, jammers Little A, Sixgun Susie, and Rojo Grande, the Tantrums quickly staked out a considerable 18-0 lead.  Even after hitting a rough patch where Tampa lost the majority of its blockers, Dixie still couldn't pull ahead, setting the stage for one of the biggest routs Tampa has yet pulled.

The Tantrums' roster, learning from their loss to Dallas at Franky Panky, was now skating clean, and capitalizing off of Dixie's miskates.  Dixie, on the other hand, was struggling to keep their jammers out of the box. That penal discrepancy allowed Tampa's all-star blockers Leia Flat, Bettie Kruger, Anita Bopabitch to do what they do best -- deliver devastating blows and run the pack.  The Tantrums would dominate so completely that Cakeface Killa's aforementioned two point jam would be all Dixie would score in thirty minutes, leaving the score at 99-2 at the break.

Dixie was still unable to control its penalties in the second half, though they did get a handle on the jammer penalties, letting jammers such as Wicked One bring in small offerings of points as the Tantrums began experiencing penalty problems. These penalties, along with the ubiquitous half-time strategy change,  accounting for Dixie's improved scoring in the second half.  Despite their considerable improvement between the halves, it just wasn't enough, ending with Tampa taking a 141 point win. -- Timothy Blaszka

Read the archived boutcast.

Original version of this article on the Tampa Bay Roller Derby Examiner.