This bout recap courtesy of special correspondent Rachel MadHo:

D.C. All-Stars 34 – Carolina All-Stars 233

D.C. (#11 East seed) and Carolina (#7 East seed) faced off Saturday at the Dulles Sportsplex for their second match-up in four months — Carolina won a 97-92 nail-biter in February. D.C. had high hopes for a reversal of fortunes, but resignations and injury had dealt hefty blows to D.C.’s roster in the intervening months — instead, the bout turned into the largest defeat D.C. has suffered this season.
 
D.C.’s woes started early, with the first jam going 18-0 in Carolina’s favor. A strong Carolina front wall kept D.C.’s Free Radical occupied in the pack long enough for CRG’s Holly Wanna Crackya to slip down the line for lead jammer, complete three grand-slam scoring passes, and start in on her fourth, which she called from the floor after a worrisome fall.
 
D.C. held their own through the next three jams, either scoring or keeping the Carolina damage to a minimum: Yankee Scandal grabbed D.C.’s first three points, Free Radical held Carolina’s Eris Discordia to a single scoring pass, and Scandal returned to the jammer line to earn a grand slam against CRG’s Thrashley. But with 23 minutes left to play in the first period, those 8 points were the last D.C. would see until the final jams of the half.
 
The night’s first powerjam advantage went to Carolina in the next jam, when D.C.’s Dr. SKabs was sent out on a major track cut. Despite an effort to run the pack, D.C. gave up 20 points to Holly Wanna Crackya before SKabs returned to the track.
 
More penalty trouble for D.C.’s jammers soon followed, with Scandal illegally calling off a jam and starting the next in the box. Holly Wanna Crackya’s powerjam yielded another nine points for Carolina, and over the next five jams CRG piled on a total of 30 unanswered points.
 
Even a powerjam in D.C.’s favor yielded no points: a late-in-the-jam back block major sent CRG’s Thrashley to the box and let Yankee Scandal line up unopposed, but Carolina burned the clock with a strung-out pack, and Scandal reported to the box herself with a track cut on her clearing pass. Penalty trouble for D.C.’s blockers meant Dr. SKabs spent some time as D.C.’s only defense. By the time Scandal returned to force Thrashley’s call, Carolina had another 15 points on the board with six minutes to play in the half.
 
Despite rallying to eke out a few more points before the clock ran down, Carolina still put up 22 points to D.C.’s seven in the last five jams, and a low-block call on Yankee Scandal sent D.C. into halftime with no jammer and a 105-point deficit, with the score at 120-15.

The tone set in the first period held through in the second as well: persistent penalty trouble for D.C. jammers (especially top-point-scorer Yankee Scandal) and point differentials in Carolina’s favor in nearly every jam — though Carolina’s second-half points were largely concentrated in several massive jams by Deviled Legs and Holly Wanna Crackya.
 
Right out of the gate, Holly Wanna Crackya widened the gaping deficit by another 20 points in a full-length jam that started and ended with Yankee Scandal in the box for separate penalty calls. D.C. responded with a brief rally: jammers Scandal and Free Radical held opponents JoJo Gadget and Holly to consecutive single-scoring-pass jams, and Scandal put up three more points before a back block sent her out again and JoJo Gadget answered with five. For four more jams, D.C. either put up points or forced 0-0 calls, but that surge in momentum wasn’t enough to hold back 17- and 20-point jams from Deviled Legs and Holly Wanna Crackya, respectively, leaving the score 208-29 with just under ten minutes to play.
 
Dr. SKabs won D.C.’s last points of the night, nabbing a lead jammer call over Eris Discordia and skipping through a 2-on-2 micropack with assistance from Gun’Her Down to complete a scoring pass and call in the nick of time. Free Radical forced a 0-0 call in the next jam, but the following one saw Roxy Rockett keep SKabs tangled up at the front of the pack while Holly Wanna Crackya shoveled on another 15 points for Carolina. The bout wound down with two scoreless jams: SKabs and Scandal both claimed lead jammer for D.C. but couldn’t add points before Carolina threatened. Carolina triumphed with a final score of 233-34.
 
D.C. travels to Philly (#2 East seed) this weekend for matchups against both their A and B teams, while Carolina will host Tallahassee at home.