OHIO FINISHES WITH A FLOURISH, TAKES DOWN CLASSIC CITY
After an intense three months of nearly non-stop derby action, including home games, tournament play, and several thousand miles of travel, Ohio Roller Derby tied the bow on the 2019 regular season with dual home track victories over first-time opponents Classic City Rollergirls (Athens, GA). While unable to blow open a wide enough spread to alter their predicted seeding for the North America East Continental Cup, the All Stars presented a solid performance to complete an 11-2 regular season, while Gang Green showed continued improvement and development of new skaters for a 5-4 season.
(63) ALL STARS HOLD (78) CLASSIC CITY AT BAY, 153-107
A sizable early game lead for Ohio Roller Derby ultimately proved insurmountable for the visiting charter team, despite a second half assault that kept the All Stars on their toes.
Earning lead jammer status in five of the first six jams of the contest, Ohio quickly opened a 30-1 lead over their opponents. Amy Spears forced the Classic City jammer out of bounds while Kelsey Khaos distracted defense long enough for Bigg Rigg to squeeze through the pack and nab lead in jam 7; BrussKnuckles followed up with a 5-0 run, slipping past a stalled pack in the apex. Swapping lead status gains and scoring passes, the All Stars managed to hold Classic City in the single digits until offense from a returning blocker allowed them to push the score to 46-10 in jam 11. Chainsaw pinched open a minuscule amount of space on the inside line, allowing BrussKnuckles to race out of the engagement zone 40 feet ahead of Moshya Brady for 6 clean points. Jane, Literally escaped the pack in the back straightaway for lead status in jam 15 while Vyles, Betty T. KayO, and Amy Spears recycled the Georgia jammer, eventually forcing a star pass and giving Jane room for 12 points. Catch Mikachu faked out zone defense at the front, then hustled through on a scoring pass while Chainsaw shut down an attempted apex jump; with less than 8 minutes in the half, BrussKnuckles lapped the pivot-turned-jammer for an 8-0 gain. The Classic City jammer powered through at the pivot line for lead status in jam 21, but found herself reabsorbed while Bigg Rigg landed a massive apex jump. A power jam for the visitors with under a minute remaining on the period clock resulted in a palindrome score at halftime, 93-39.
Ohio returned in the second period with a fury, shaking off a 0-4 first jam and attacking the Classic City defense. Mikachu juked into lead status and earned 6 unanswered points while Kelsey Khaos and Chainsaw stymied the opposing jammer, then Bigg Rigg seized the first Ohio power opportunity of the game, lighting up the defense on a 12-0 improvement. An avalanche of penalties on the home side provided a chance for Classic City to post their first double-digit scoring jam of the game and build up speed as they narrowed the score to 115-63, but Bigg Rigg ducked under the last defender to seal a 4-0 jam. While Chainsaw lured the Classic City jammer into committing a track cut penalty in jam 32, Jane, Literally chased down a racing pack and moonwalked through defense for 6 uncontested points. Betty T. KayO cleared the entire defense at the start of the following jam, providing BrussKnuckles with a wide-open path to lead status. Presented with another power jam, Bigg Rigg ducked and weaved through the pack, dodging hits for 8 tidy points; Classic City answered with four straight shutout jams. A full two-minute jam saw both jammers penalized, but BrussKnuckles tipped the scales in Ohio’s favor, falling and barrel rolling to stay in bounds and complete a 12-8 run. Partially restricted by escalating penalty totals, the All Stars battled to lock down defense in the final minutes of play; after resetting with a team timeout, Mikachu surged into lead status and 4 points. With mere seconds left in the game, Lara Del Rage and KloverKill staved off the Classic City jammer long enough for Bigg Rigg to snag lead and 4 points, calling the jam for a final score of 153-107.
MVPs for Ohio were Bigg Rigg (jammer) and Betty T. KayO (blocker).
MVPs for Classic City were BadAsh Booher (jammer) and The Big Easy (blocker).
Official lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Ohio were: Bigg Rigg (8-13, 47 pts); BrussKnuckles (7-13, 41 pts); Catch Mikachu (5-13, 40 pts); Jane, Literally (4-7, 25 pts); Birch Slap (0-1, 0 pts); and Betty T. KayO (0-2 [2 star passes], 0 pts).
Official lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Classic City were: BooHer (7-12, 36 pts); Monster (9-13, 38 pts); Moshya Brady (0-9, 0 pts); Louis Strongarm (7-13, 29 pts); Erin McElearney (0-1 [1 star pass], 4 pts); and Hell2Pae (0-2 [2 star passes], 0 pts).
GANG GREEN TRAMPLES BAD NEWS BS, 231-81
Gaining an early foothold over the Bad News Bs, Gang Green methodically widened their lead over an hour of gameplay, delving deep into their jammer rotation as the differential snowballed late in the second half.
The first lead jammer status and points of the game went to the home squad; a power jam for the Bs in the following jam allowed them to flip the score in their favor, 7-9, but Smash Panda stole it back in jam 3, kicking off a seven-jam streak of Gang Green clock control. Belle A. Trix darted up the inside line for lead and a 19-1 explosion, then Nick Tater escorted Dr. Fun Size out of bounds while Frida Killo patiently harvested 7 points. Classic City stole lead status in jam 10, but Oxford Coma and Lara Del Rage proved difficult to fight past; Birch Slap sprang through the pack for a neat 8 points while Sheepskate, HardKore, and Higgs Bosom locked down the opposing jammer. A tug-of-war for lead jammer status ensued, with each team canceling all points scored by the other. Smash Panda revived Gang Green energy in jam 20, busting through a two-wall of blockers and spinning up a line for 8 points as Slayna Scully recruited Lara Del Rage to help detain the Bs jammer at the rear of the pack. Continuing to hold the Georgia skaters scoreless, Nick Tater posted an 8-0 run on a power jam with offense from Kegel Scout. A last-jam power opportunity allowed Family Jewls to push the Bs 8 points closer by halftime, 97-53.
Gang Green came out of the break swinging, piling up nearly 70 points in just over 10 minutes of play. After a handful of jams without significant progress on either side, Birch Slap hopped the apex and muscled through the pack for 20 untouched points while Avocado ToeStop and Nick Tater recycled on Furriosa. Slamazon Prime carried the momentum, finding an 11-0 improvement in jam 31, and Belle A. Trix hoisted Gang Green to a 165-64 lead with a 15-0 followup. Reaching into their jammer reserves with just over half the period to play, the home team explored their options; Higgs Bosom ignored a pack disadvantage and nabbed lead in jam 36, then Peach Roulette slid through for 6 spotless points. The Bs found lead for the first time in six jams, but a fast-moving pack forced a quick call off without points, and Kegel Scout kept the action moving in the next jam, powering past staunch defense for an 8-0 gain. Higgs Bosom wedged open just enough space for HardKore to sneak up a line and into lead status for 4 points in jam 42; Peach Roulette and Belle A. Trix turned up the heat in subsequent jams with 8 and 12 uncontested points, respectively. With under four minutes to play, Violet KonDuct broke the scoreless streak for the Bs, but tough one-on-one defense by Slayna Scully limited the gain to a single point. Classic City were awarded two power opportunities in the final minutes and looked to make the most of the unopposed track time, but stalwart Gang Green defense limited their progress and cinched a 231-81 victory for the home contingent.
MVPs for Gang Green were Peach Roulette (jammer) and Oxford Coma (blocker).
MVPs for the Bad News Bs were Violet KonDuct (jammer) and Bruzer von Hammerstein (blocker).
Official lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for Gang Green were: Belle A. Trix (9-14, 84 pts); Birch Slap (8-12, 45 pts); Smash Panda (6-11, 32 pts); Peach Roulette (4-4, 23 pts); Slamazon Prime (2-2, 15 pts); HardKore (2-2, 6 pts); Nick Tater (1-1, 8 pts); Kegel Scout (1-1, 8 pts); Frida Killo (1-1, 7 pts); and Higgs Bosom (1-1, 3 pts).
Official lead status gain, jamming, and scoring for the Bad News Bs were: Violet KonDuct (5-9, 22 pts); Furriosa (2-10 [2 star passes], 14 pts); Freakachu (3-6, 9 pts); Dirty Hippie (1-5, 5 pts); Dr. Fun Size (0-6, 3 pts); Bruzer von Hammerstein (1-5 [1 star pass], 9 pts); Family Jewls (2-4 [1 star pass], 18 pts); Sylvia Wrath (0-2, 0 pts); Purrfect Storm (0-4 [1 star pass], 0 pts); Miss Chainsaw (0-2 [1 star pass], 0 pts); Lucky Roller (0-1, 0 pts); and BooHer (0-1 [1 star pass], 0 pts).
Photos by Chris Baker.
