The DC Rollergirls‘ sixth season kicked off at the Armory on Sunday, with Mayor Vincent Gray blowing the first whistle to get the wheels rolling on a thrilling afternoon of derby, which included the debut of DCRG’s newest team, the Majority Whips.
And now, our bout recaps by special correspondents Rock Clobster (first bout recap) and Velocityraptor (second bout recap).
Scare Force One 166 – 77 Cherry Blossom Bombshells
The first bout of the night pitted the Cherry Blossom Bombshells against defending Season Five champions Scare Force One. The Bombshells struck first, with jammer (and team captain) Lucky Penny breaking out of the pack to leave the score 3-0 at the end of the first jam. But Scare Force One wouldn’t remain scoreless for long: in the next two jams, co-captain Chinese Cheker and veteran jammer Lenore Gore helped them build a 13-3 lead — and they held onto that advantage for the rest of the bout.
Ten minutes in, the Bombshells called a time out, adjusting their strategy to help jammers Yankee Scandal and Lucky Penny bring the score to 36-22 Scare Force. The Fright Attendants deftly shut down any hope of a comeback, with Lenore Gore and Marion Barrycuda taking the score to 44-22 halfway through the first period. Late in the first period, the teams traded powerjams, but thanks to Scare Force One’s strong defense behind blocker Soledad, the Bombshells weren’t able to make much of a dent in the score. Scare Force dominated the end of the first period, holding the Bombshells scoreless in five straight jams, bringing them into halftime with a solid 68-39 lead.
Scare Force rode that momentum into the second half with two big jams early on — 14 points for Brutal Noodle and 10 for Gore, taking the score to 96-46. With Bombshells rotating in and out of the penalty box, Scare Force’s Feral Streak took advantage of a powerjam to send her team above the century mark at 101-46. Although Bombshell jammer Scandal had a chance to increase her team’s point total during a full two-minute jam with no lead jammer, she was outmatched by Velocityraptor, who bagged 17 points to her 11. With 10 minutes remaining in the bout the Bombshells were held scoreless in five straight jams, remaining stuck at 73 as Scare Force built their total to 140.
The Bombshells would only score once more in the last half; a rash of crucial penalties and Scare Force’s strong defense prevented them from narrowing the scoring gap. Scare Force One closed out the bout, earning their first win of the season with a final score of 166-77.
Majority Whips 94 – 93 DC DemonCats
The second bout of the night saw the DC DemonCats facing off against the newest addition to the DC Rollergirls family, the Majority Whips. The DemonCats opened the door with an initial salvo of 21-2 in the first three jams, building solid walls of three defenders to hold back the Whips’ jammers and shut down their offense. Ten minutes into the first period, the Whips had narrowed the score to 23-15, with jammer Stabigail Adams taking advantage of DemonCat blockers in the box to put up an unanswered nine points. Despite solid defensive three-walls from both teams, the DemonCats began pulling ahead with Hooah!Girl, Jersey Jill and Ovary Action piling on the points to close out the half with the score at 61-43.
The second half was a see-saw of blocker penalties, with the advantage going back and forth from one team to the other as the pack played musical chairs in the penalty box. The DemonCats sent in their hitting power of Bad Asset, Lady Burn Johnson and Rachel MadHo, only to watch their efforts stymied by the coordination of the Whips’ Styx N Stones, Maria Malicia and Rebel Shell. The tide began to turn for the ‘Cats with just over 13 minutes remaining, when Dual Hitizen came screaming through the pack to claim lead jammer status and a quick grand slam before calling it off to pull the Whips up to 64 points against the DemonCats’ 74.
From then on, it was a race of hit-and-quit jams, with each team fielding several quick back-to-back scoring passes, but unable to capitalize with the other jammer hot on her heels. With just over 10 minutes left, rookie (and former speed skater) Fierce Compredator donned the green star and rocketed through for a grand slam that sent the crowd into a frenzy as the Whips took the lead at 78-81. As the clock wound down, both teams turned heavily to defense. Jersey Jill managed to claim lead jammer and pull the DemonCats ahead by one point with just under 8 minutes remaining, but Dual Hitizen and Nasty Pelosi took advantage of penalty-ravaged micropacks to pull ahead once again.
With just 45 seconds left on the clock and the Whips ahead 93-92, both teams used the official timeout to assemble their strongest lineups. Jersey Jill pulled on the star once more for the DemonCats and looked to Bad Asset, Lady Burn Johnson, Ovary Action and Rachel MadHo to swing open the door for her, while Nasty Pelosi in the Whips’ star had Styx N Stones, Jackie Mae Day, Spank Erin and Maria Malicia on her side. With the entire crowd on its feet, the whistle blew and both jammers sped through the pack, with Jill claiming lead and Nasty hot on her tail. As the period clock ticked down the final seconds, both jammers found themselves held up in the pack and Jill called it off with each jammer scoring just one point apiece, which was just enough for the Majority Whips to claim their very first victory with a final score of 94-93.
Your next chance to see the some thrilling DC Rollergirls derby action is Saturday, November 5th at the Dulles Sportsplex; those who rely on public transportation will want to hitch a ride this time, but don’t worry — the rest of the season’s bouts are back at the Armory. Doors open at 3 p.m. and the first bout begins at 4 p.m. featuring a repeat of last year’s championship bout, the DC DemonCats vs. Scare Force One, followed by the Cherry Blossom Bombshells vs. the Majority Whips. Check the DC Rollergirls website for details.
