OHIO SPLITS GAMES AGAINST TRI-CITY
Upholding a near-annual tradition, Ohio Roller Derby hosted Tri-City Roller Derby for the third year running. The All Stars held a 4-0 record over the skaters from Kitchener, Ontario, and were victorious again, improving to a 5-1 season record. In the second game of the night, Gang Green looked to bolster their 2-1 record over TCRD’s Plan B, but ultimately fell short in their first loss of the season.
(41) OHIO STORMS PAST (47) TRI-CITY THUNDER, 258-129
From the first whistle of the game, the Ohio All Stars held a firm grip on the lead over the Tri-City Thunder, matching points with or outscoring the Canadian team in 74% of jams. Lora “Outa My” Wayman, The Smacktivist , and Bigg Rigg gave Ohio big boosts with eleven double-digit jams, and clean gameplay on both sides meant full packs, brawny defense, and tough battles for lead jammer status.
Tri-City’s defense held The Smacktivist for 35 seconds in the first jam before they got out for a quick 4 points, and with the first penalty of the game assessed to the TCRD jammer in jam 4, they posted 23 unanswered points to give Ohio a 31-5 lead. Despite two scoreless jams in a row and a power jam for Tri-City, Stevie Brown, Chainsaw, and KloverKill locked down Ohio’s defense and contained the opposing jammer for 40 seconds on a power start. Joined by Kitty Liquorbottom, they forced Tri-City to pass the star in jam 9, allowing The Smacktivist to lap JANEgerous and catch pivot-turned-jammer Smashin’ Good Time in a face-to-face block. In jam 12, TCRD blockers knocked Bigg Rigg out of bounds, but she raced up the inside line and into lead status on her return, and posted 14 points on a power jam to widen Ohio’s lead to 81-31 before calling it off to give The Smacktivist a power start. Easily grabbing lead, The Smacktivist racked up 13 points while Wayman thwarted offensive efforts and Chainsaw forced MEGAnTRON out of bounds before drawing her back 40 feet. Blitz Lemon provided strong offense for Bigg Rigg in jam 17 while Jesse “Ava Tarr” Fox recycled Crazy Squirrel, and the last jam of the period ended with a full penalty bench for Tri-City and a 129-62 lead for Ohio.
Uncontested on the jammer line, The Smacktivist kicked off the second half with a 13-0 jam; Blitz Lemon rocketed out of the pack with a scant 40-foot lead in jam 23, picked up 2 points, and called the jam before the Thunder jammer could score. Bigg Rigg, Jesse “Ava Tarr” Fox, Paige Bleed, and Zee “Loraine Acid” Gulertekin held MEGAnTRON to a 4-point gain while The Smacktivist rounded up another 19 points. TCRD answered with 19 points of their own over the next three jams, tightening their defense, but Ohio then held them scoreless for six straight minutes. Zee “Loraine Acid” Gulertekin squeezed into lead just ahead of Crazy Squirrel in a brief but physical jam. Blitz Lemon cleared a path for The Smacktivist to nab lead before teaming with Kitty Liquorbottom to sweep opposing blockers out of bounds. In a 14-0 jam in Ohio’s favor, Wayman raced around the outside and into lead status while Betty T. KayO and Jesse “Ava Tarr” Fox forced a star pass by Aggrosaurus and then a track cut penalty on Kristy Skelton. After several jams of trading handfuls of points, Tri-City was awarded a penalty call on Ohio’s jammer, but The Smacktivist snapped up lead on their return from the box for a speedy 4-0 jam. With no time remaining on the period clock, Wayman tacked on 12 more points for Ohio, bringing the final score to 258-129.
MVPs for Ohio were Blitz Lemon (jammer) and Stevie Brown (blocker). MVPs for Tri-City were MEGAnTRON (jammer) and Kristy Skelton (blocker).
Unofficial jamming and scoring for Ohio were: The Smacktivist (12-15, 134 pts); Lora “Outa My” Wayman(4-12, 65 pts); Bigg Rigg(2-5, 25 pts); Kitty Liquorbottom (0-7, 18 pts); Zee “Loraine Acid” Gulertekin (1-2, 8 pts); Blitz Lemon (3-5, 7 pts); and Chainsaw (0-3, 1 pt).
Unofficial jamming and scoring for Tri-City were: MEGAnTRON (6-12, 63 pts); Crazy Squirrel (6-17, 45 pts); JANEgerous (1-8, 11 pts); Aggrosaurus (2-4, 9 pts); Smashin’ Good Time (1-4, 1 pt); and Kristy Skelton (0-3, 0 pts).
GANG GREEN THWARTED BY TRI-CITY’S PLAN B, 144-227
Despite many skaters playing in both games of the evening, neither team showed signs of tiring as the second contest began. Jammer penalties plagued both teams throughout the game, but sizable point contributions by Karmabal Lectur, Betty T. KayO, and TactiGal gave the Ohio team well-timed boosts, and smart recycling helped minimize point gains by Tri-City.
The first lead status of the game went to Plan B, but Karmabal Lectur capitalized on a penalty to the opposing jammer to give Gang Green an early 11-5 lead. Both teams fought to make progress during the first six minutes, until a full two-minute contest in jam 6 gave Ohio their widest lead of the game, 31-19. Plan B jammer Scary Fairy responded with a 7-0 jam, and went on to tie the score at 34-34 in jam 10 despite constant assault by Sarah Sexton, Quiet Storm, Elektra Magneto, and rookie ElizaDEATH Rae. Back-to-back power jams for TCRD allowed Kristy Skelton and Andi Slamberg to post 14 and 9 unopposed points respectively; Val Holla stole 3 speedy points as Quiet Storm prevented Pity Affoo from getting lead status in jam 14, but Plan B’s defense held Gang Green scoreless for nearly 8 minutes. Betty T. KayO scraped up the last 4 points of the half for Gang Green while Death CertifiKate, Lil Spitfire, Lawless, and BrussKnuckles all made fierce contributions to Ohio’s defensive formations.
Down 41-120 at the top of the second half, Gang Green was determined to chip away at the Plan B lead from both an offensive and defensive angle, and doubled their points in the first 10 minutes while holding Tri-City to just 15 points gained. Anne Tastic narrowly grabbed lead status in jam 27, but lost it as she was assessed a forearm penalty and then a back block later in the same jam. TactiGal sprinted around the track for 24 points before picking up a penalty of her own, but outraced Scary Fairy from the box for a 1-0 gain in the following jam. Running with the momentum, Val Holla jumped the apex for 5 points as Andi Slamberg left the track on a penalty, and 5-0 & 4-0 jams by Elektra Magneto & Paige Bleed narrowed the deficit to 80-135. A power jam opportunity allowed Foxy Force, Quiet Storm, and Sexton to focus on offense for Val Holla, but Pity Affoo posted 15 unanswered points in jam 37 as an illegal star pass attempt landed both Gang Green’s jammer and pivot in the penalty box. Val Holla passed the jammer star as Plan B’s jammer picked up a back block call and Gang Green blockers cleared the outside line, allowing Betty T. KayO to rack up a 19-4 jam. Elektra Magneto picked up 10 more points with offensive help from Paige Bleed. Quiet Storm ran Pity Affoo back nearly half a lap while TactiGal found 9 more points for Gang Green, but a 29-7 jam in TCRD’s favor wrapped up the 144-227 loss for the Ohio squad.
MVPs for Gang Green were Val Holla (jammer) and Betty T. Kayo (blocker). MVPs for Tri-City were Scary Fairy (jammer) and Aggrosaurus (blocker).
Unofficial jamming and scoring for Gang Green were: TactiGal (3-9, 35 pts); Betty T. KayO (3-8, 33 pts); Karmabal Lector (1-8, 30 pts); Val Holla (3-10, 21 pts); Elektra Magneto (1-2, 15 pts); Paige Bleed (2-11, 10 pts); and BrussKnuckles (0-1, 0 pts).
Unofficial jamming and scoring for Tri-City were: Scary Fairy (8-14, 101 pts); Kristy Skelton (5-9, 49 pts); Andi Slamberg (5-12, 30 pts); Pity Affoo (2-6, 23 pts); Aggrosaurus (2-2, 16 pts); and Anne Tastic (2-2, 8 pts).
OHRD’s next games will be at home against the Carolina Rollergirls’ All-Stars and Bootleggers on Saturday, May 14th, in the Ohio Building at the Ohio Expo Center.
Photos by: Joe Mac
