Carolina (#8) starts strong with huge win over Dutchland (#9)

By Vile Love It

First up to kick off East Region Playoff action in Essex Junction, VT was the Carolina Rollergirls (#8) of Raleigh, NC up against the Dutchland Derby Rollers (#9) of Lancaster PA.

Photo by Hale Yeah

The last time these two teams met in sanctioned game play was in 2010 when Carolina took the win with a score of 160-85.

The first few jams were all action but no points, and it took three jams before either team was able to score. It would be the last time the score was that close for the rest of the bout.

Carolina took early control of the jammer line starts as well as the rest of the track in a bout that featured 13 trips to the box by Dutchland’s jammers. Eight minutes in, Carolina had 35 points to Dutchland’s 7, when Dutchland’s jammer Bela Lowblowsi got her own chance at a power jam. She scored 20 points, but it would be Dutchland’s only significant power jam of the game.

“We feel really good about the game,” said Dutchland’s Skid Ho. “A couple of months ago we lost our coach and several skaters, so we came into the tournament with several new skaters. We’ve worked really hard to bring the team together since then and our goal was to come in and do the best we can with an eye on building for next year.”

About halfway through the first half, Carolina began to pull away from Dutchland significantly with some well-placed offensive blocking and tight walls. Carolina had two commanding jams scoring 24 and 22 points, as well as several other high scoring jams in the first half. Some were on power jams, and others were jams where the Carolina blockers held fast to Dutchland’s jammer.

At the half, Carolina had a commanding lead (122-37) having held Dutchland pointless for several jams throughout the period.

The first jam of the second half saw Dutchland’s jammer and two blockers sitting in the box, and despite the fact that Carolina was also down blockers, their jammer was able to keep lapping the pack.

Dutchland has many nimble and intrepid jammers, but their blockers struggled to find coordinated offense plays and find the right recipe to shut down Carolina’s jammers.

Carolina was able to maintain control even when they were at a disadvantage in the pack while Dutchland struggled to find their place on the track. And when given the power jam, Carolina ran away with it. All in all, Carolina had two 29-point, three 24-point, a 22-point, a 19- and 18-point jam.

“It was an amazing game. We really enjoyed playing Dutchland,” said Carolina’s Jojo Gadget. “We played clean and were able to communicate very well on the track. We were able to really maintain our focus and keep calm.”

Carolina Rollergirls (#8) 304
Dutchland Derby Rollers (#9) 75