OHRG Claims Victory Over Blue Ridge; Two Ohio Skaters Score 100+

Roughly one thousand fans filled the Lausche Building this past weekend for a Mother’s Day treat as OHRG was victorious over their competitors, the Blue Ridge Rollergirls All Stars.  The All Star bout was fast-paced, featured hard hits, and saw two jammers score over 100 points.

(23) OHRG DEFEATS (44) BLUE RIDGE ALL STARS 278-77; PHOENIX BUNZ SCORES 140, KITTY LIQUORBOTTOM TALLIES 114

In the headliner bout of the afternoon, the Ohio Roller Girls welcomed in the Blue Ridge Rollergirls All Stars from Asheville, North Carolina.  Only having received their charter status last season, Blue Ridge came to Columbus with hopes of making a name for themselves.

They entered the bout at 0-5 this season, but played four of those five bouts against higher ranked opponents, which included a bout against #15 Atlanta.  Blue Ridge is ranked #44 in the WFTDA, and a victory or close loss to Ohio could have potentially bumped them into the top 40.  With the new divisional system the WFTDA has adopted, the top 40 qualify for post-season berths in Division 1 and a shot at Championships.

The bout started very quickly for Blue Ridge, as they were able to obtain lead jammer on nine of the bout’s first eleven jams.  Blue Ridge jammer Caslamity Jane put the visitors on the board first after a 2-0 jam.  Points were minimal over the following seven jams, but Blue Ridge held a 10-5 advantage with 22:15 remaining.

As a jammer, Ohio’s Outa My Wayman was called for a back block which allowed Blue Ridge’s Riot Crrrls to double their previous score.  With Wayman still boxed, Caslamity Jane added fourteen more on the following jam.  Once released from the sin bin, Outa My Wayman was nearing a scoring pass, but the jam was called by Blue Ridge’s Skelley-Tor.  Wayman was blocked at the fourth whistle and her momentum carried her into an opposing skater, which sent Wayman back to the box for an illegal procedure penalty.  The resulting power jam took Blue Ridge’s score to 44-5 with 18:30 left in the period.

The Ohio Roller Girls then seemed to flip a switch in their game-play, going on to only allow Blue Ridge eight points over the remainder of the half.  Offensively, what had been a scoring struggle opened like flood gates as Ohio scored 112 points in the final eighteen and a half minutes of the period.  It started with the score at 44-5, as Ohio’s defensive packs of Pippi RipYourStockings, AvaTarr, Amy Spears, Kill Basa, and Loraine Acid held Blue Ridge scoreless over three jams.

Blue Ridge’s Skelley-Tor was then sent to the penalty box for a track cut, and Kitty Liquorbottom posted twenty to provide the bout’s first, and only, lead change at 48-47.  Three of the next four jams resulted in the Blue Ridge jammer being sent to the penalty box as well.  During that time, Ohio’s jammer Phoenix Bunz posted jams of 17 and 25 points.  Kitty Liquorbottom added another double-digit jam of seventeen to take Ohio’s lead to 113-48 with 03:00 remaining in the half.  Both squads were able to post four additional points before halftime, but after the early scare Ohio had more than doubled up their opponents 117-52.

The second half started much like the first half finished, with Ohio’s defense simply dominating Blue Ridge’s pack and jammers.  On the first jam of the second half, Outa My Wayman knocked Blue Ridge jammer Caslamity Jane out of bounds, then forced a track cut.  The penalty to Caslamity Jane opened the door for Phoenix Bunz to score 35 of her 140 points during the power jam.  During that time, she was aided by stellar blocking by Loraine Acid and got a boost from a whip by Ava Tarr.

Ohio then outscored Blue Ridge 21-0 over the next five jams.  Blue Ridge got on the board nearly nine minutes into the half as Riot Crrrls posted four and called the jam.  Points were minimal over the next five jams until Phoenix Bunz tallied an 18-0 jam midway through the half.  With 12:45 remaining in the contest, Ohio led comfortably 202-60.  Blue Ridge’s defense was able to hold Ohio scoreless over the following two jams as their own jammer Skelley-Tor added four.

However, on the subsequent jam, another jammer penalty for Blue Ridge put Ohio on another power jam.  Kitty Liquorbottom added an additional twenty points for the home squad, and increased their lead to 222-66 with 10:45 remaining.  Jammers were content to hit-it-and-quit-it over the next five jams.

A star-pass between pivot Kitty Liquorbottom and Bratislava Bruiser on the second-to-last jam took Ohio’s lead to 263-77, and put Kitty’s point total at 99 points for the afternoon.  She eclipsed the century mark on the bout’s final jam as she posted a 15-0 jam and closed the bout with the final score at 278-77.

Although Phoenix Bunz and Kitty Liquorbottom received a lot of attention for their jamming performance, the true story of the bout was the fantastic play by Ohio’s pack players.  Time and time again, Ohio’s pack would take out a Blue Ridge jammer or blocker at the right time, or force one of their opponents to make a penalty.

For the majority of the bout, Ohio’s pack had the numbers advantage as Blue Ridge often had at least one skater in the penalty box.  Loraine Acid, Ava Tarr, Pippi RipYourStockings, and Outa My Wayman stood out for their solid pack play as they tenaciously held the Blue Ridge jammers at bay.  After Blue Ridge’s initial 44-5 push to open the contest, Ohio’s blockers held the visiting squad to only 33 points over the remaining 47:15 of the bout.  Ohio’s Phoenix Bunz and Blue Ridge’s Coma N Ducer were named bout MVPs.

Jamming for Ohio were:  Phoenix Bunz (12-15, 140 points), Kitty Liquorbottom (9-18, 114 points), Paige Bleed (2-5, 9 points), Bratislava Bruiser (0-2, 8 points), HellionBOI (0-4, 5 points), Loraine Acid (1-1, 2 points), Outa My Wayman (0-3, 0 points), and Texas Chainsaw Sasskicker (0-1, 0 points).  Ohio obtained lead jammer twenty-four times and benefited from eight power jams.

Jamming for Blue Ridge were:  Caslamity Jane (7-17, 29 points), Skelley-Tor (5-15, 20 points), Riot Crrrls (5-9, 19 points), and Punk Rotten (2-6, 9 points).  Blue Ridge obtained lead jammer nineteen times and had three power jams.

Photos courtesy of Dorn Byg.