Rat City (#6) beats Wasatch (#9)

By Shelly Shankya

Wasatch Roller Derby (#9) brought their fans en masse, and they came toting gigantic face cutouts of the team's players, shouting loud enough to fill the pavilion. The fervor from the crowd carried over the barriers, giving Wasatch the early advantage against Rat City Rollergirls (#6). 

Photo by Jules Doyle

Two back-to-back power jams for Wasatch set them ahead, and it wasn't until the tenth jam, after one more power jam for Wasatch, that Rat City was able to create a lead change. But there were four lead changes in the first half, Wasatch losing several blockers to the box and Rat City battling jammer majors. The twenty-second jam of the first was tumultuous by far and resulted in the final lead change at the call for half, Wasatch ahead 81-79. 

What Rat City gave away in penalty kills, Wasatch gave back in the second, starting off with Squid Vicious in the box for a major back block. Wasatch chipped away at the 19-point deficit caused by Squid's major with small jams, but Rat City kept capitalizing on the power jams, with a 20-point power jam from Missile America later in the second. Two blockers from Wasatch fouled out, Skatey Gaga with 10:38 left and The Instigator with 6:43 left. 

"We knew what we messed up on in the first half," Rat City jammer Missile America said. "We huddled during the half, and we came back fresh with our minds calm, cool and collected."

Squid Vicious came back in the eighteenth jam with a 14-point jam, much to the excitement of the Wasatch crowd. The crowd's cries weren't enough, however, to bring it back for the ladies from Salt Lake CIty.

"We play again tonight at six, and we're gonna watch our penalties, and we're gonna play smart. The moments when we settle down are when we play our best," Missile America said. 

Rat City Rollergirls (#6) 244
Wasatch Roller Derby (#9) 172