OHIO BESTS BRANDYWINE
Skating their second-to-last home games of the 2019 season, Ohio Roller Derby welcomed Brandywine Roller Derby for Pride Night and racked up early leads that led to triple-digit victories in both games.
(63) OHIO ROCKETS PAST (69) BRANDYWINE, 235-64
With just a few weeks remaining for games that can impact postseason tournament seeding, and incredibly close competition among half a dozen teams in the North America East region hovering near the cutoff point for Continental Cup eligibility, the Ohio Roller Derby All Stars drew on the momentum they gained from their 3-0 run at Midwest BrewHaHa and charged into their 12th game of the season swinging. Aiming for a 2:1 spread over the Brandywine Belligerents, the home contenders wasted no time on the track, opening a tidy 100-point lead by halftime and obtaining lead jammer status in 78% of jams.
Quick shutout jams dominated the opening minutes of the contest, as Ohio jammers largely limited themselves to single scoring passes. Brandywine snuck onto the board in jam 7, but a subsequent power start for Ohio stalled their progress. KloverKill and Kelsey Khaos burned a Brandywine power jam, then Bigg Rigg made the first major move for Ohio with a 16-4 gain, shifting their moderate lead to a more formidable 53-9 spread. The Belligerents answered with two shutout jams of their own; grinding defense on both sides prevented a lead jammer call for over a minute in jam 13. A team timeout called by Brandywine allowed a minute to regroup before BrussKnuckles slingshotted through the pack with a jersey whip from Betty T. KayO. Sprinting laps around the track and slicing through the pack for eight scoring passes, Catch Mikachu posted 31 points on a power jam late in the half; Bigg Rigg followed up with a 3-point pass that pushed Ohio over the century mark. Belle A. Trix squeezed through on the apex to pick up lead and 8 neat points with offensive assistance from Kelsey Khaos, but Brandywine wrung out a final 4-point pass in the last jam of the half as Ohio snagged lead and ran out the clock.
Ready to expand their 128-28 lead, the All Stars stymied Evil Beauty on an early power jam, and BrussKnuckles danced through the pack for a 7-4 improvement. Brandywine earned their first multi-lap points of the game in jam 26, taking advantage of a star pass on the home side, but Mikachu responded with fire two jams later, zipping past their defense on a 20-0 power jam. Timely offense by Amy Spears provided just enough space for Belle A. Trix to duck through for 4 points; ThumpHer forced BrussKnuckles out of bounds at the start of jam 31 and ran clockwise to reabsorb her into the pack on a negative lap, briefly stalling gameplay, but the All Stars jammer managed to sneak through for lead status. Taking the jammer line for the first time in the contest, Smash Panda offered on-point relief, snapping up lead and continuing a rapid succession of 4-0 jams. With ten minutes remaining in the game, and Ohio on the brink of breaking 200 points, penalties began to plague both benches, depleting the pack and gifting Brandywine back-to-back power jams. The All Stars regained their footing in jam 40 as Betty T. KayO opened a lane for Mikachu on a 12-0 run while Vyles and Chainsaw swarmed the Belligerents jammer. Maintaining steady pressure through the final minutes of play, the All Stars continued to post single scoring passes while locking down defense, and snagged a final 4-5 gain in the last seconds for a 235-64 win.
MVPs for Ohio were BrussKnuckles (jammer) and Betty T. KayO (blocker).
MVPs for Brandywine were Evil Beauty (jammer) and ThumpHer (blocker).
Unofficial lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Ohio were: Catch Mikachu (10-12,105 pts); BrussKnuckles (9-12, 43 pts); Bigg Rigg (8-16, 53 pts); Birch Slap (1-4, 8 pts); Belle A. Trix (4-4, 19 pts); Smash Panda (1-1, 4 pts); and Betty T. KayO (1-3 [2 star passes], 3 pts)
Unofficial lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Brandywine were: Evil Beauty (6-17, 38 pts); Rolling Thunder (1-14, 9 pts); MayhEm (2-8, 9 pts); Rocket Pop (0-4, 7 pts); ThumpHer (1-6 [3 star passes], 1 pt); and Thresher (0-1 [1 star pass], 0 pts).
GANG GREEN LIGHTS UP THE BRAWLERS, 253-93
Inspired by the first game of the night, Gang Green took a similar approach to their matchup with the Brawlers, making bold forays from the first whistle, holding their opponents at bay while widening their early lead, and finding a 100-point differential after thirty minutes of play.
Two jammer penalties in the inaugural jam gave Belle A. Trix plenty of room to explode onto the scoreboard with 24 points; the teams swapped handfuls of points over the next seven jams, but Gang Green maintained a minimum 20-point lead. A full two-minute jam allowed Birch Slap to ramp up the momentum with a 16-8 gain while a veteran blocking contingent recycled on the Brandywine jammer, and Smash Panda wedged open the lead to 75-20 with 20 unanswered points on a power opportunity. Rookie Peach Roulette kicked off a string of seven successive shutout jams with lead status awarded to Gang Green; Avocado ToeStop drove through a depleted pack on a 16-0 run as Slayna Scully and Frida Killo locked down the opposing jammer, hoisting the home squad to a 103-24 lead. The Brawlers’ jammer broke their scoreless streak in jam 23, slipping through holes in a short pack for lead status and quick points, but Gang Green retaliated by outscoring them 24-9 over the next eight minutes of the period. Patience provided an opportunity for Frida Killo to wind through the defense for 8 points; Sheepskate and Higgs Bosom forced the Brandywine jammer to pass the star while Nick Tater earned lead status and the last 4 points of the period.
Holding a comfortable 137-37 lead, Gang Green deepened the jammer rotation in the second half, using 11 of their 15 skaters to widen the gap further. Following several defense-heavy jams, Foxy Force and HardKore posted consecutive 2-point gains; a power start in jam 32 allowed Sparkles to rack up 11 points for the Brawlers, their largest gain yet. Sheepskate stalled the Brandywine jammer long enough for Smash Panda to catch up and force a scoreless call off, then Frida Killo swung things back in favor of Gang Green with a quick 8-4 jam. Continuing to nudge the score higher, Birch Slap dipped under defense for 6 points as Oxford Coma frustrated the pivot-turned-jammer. Launching a lead jammer streak that would last the remainder of the game, Higgs Bosom plowed through the pack on an 8-0 advance; Slamazon Prime cooly racked up scoring passes, earning 28 uncontested points and boosting Gang Green over the double century mark while Lara Del Rage and Slayna Scully denied an initial pass by the opposing jammer for two full minutes. On a roll, Nick Tater made full use of a power jam and raked in another 11 points. The Brawlers made inroads during a late-game power opportunity, harvesting 22 points, but one last 8-0 jam by Birch Slap resulted in a 253-93 final.
MVPs for Gang Green were Slamazon Prime (jammer) and Lara Del Rage (blocker).
MVPS for the Brawlers were Sparkles (jammer) and What The Heckman (blocker).
Unofficial lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Gang Green were: Belle A. Trix (5-8, 44 pts); Birch Slap (9-10, 57 pts); Smash Panda (4-8, 30 pts); Avocado ToeStop (3-4, 27 pts); Peach Roulette (3-5, 12 pts); Slamazon Prime (2-4, 28 pts); Frida Killo (3-3, 16 pts); Nick Tater (2-2, 15 pts); Foxy Force (2-2, 2 pts); HardKore (1-3, 2 pts); and Higgs Bosom (1-1, 8 pts).
Jamming for the Brandywine Brawlers were Sweet Dee Zaster, Sparkles, Intoxiskate, Lucy Van Weltin, Kelly Krueger, and Stagersaurus (detailed jammer statistics unavailable at time of publication).
Photos by Chris Baker.
