Milwaukee, WI

By Shelly Shankya

Day 2 of the 2013 WFTDA Championships started off with rocket-force momentum as the Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners battled Atlanta Rollergirls’ Dirty South Derby Girls for a chance at semi-final play at the end of the day. The two teams have a history of tough matches in the South Central region, knew it would be a tooth-and-nail game, and the crowd got quite a show, as penalties were high, and points went in Texas’ favor throughout.

What started off as an even exchange between jammers shifted as Atlanta’s Belle of the Brawl went to the box on a forearm, giving Texas jammer Bloody Mary a chance to score 37 points. Bloody was aided by a full cadre of Texecutioners on the track, as Atlanta found themselves in some serious penalty trouble; Scout Snipeher was the only Dirty South blocker on the track during a few laps of Bloody’s run. It was after Texas’ dent in the score that the Atlanta players started to settle into the game. The opening five jams took fewer than 4 minutes, while Texas took their time in the power jam to accrue the 37 points to spread the score, 41-8.

“We have been practicing for three years to be strong offensive blockers,” Texas blocker Smarty Pants said. “It’s really about asking our jammers questions, constantly talking and communicating all the time. We remind each other to be calm and to know what we’ve got to do on the track.”

Photo by Jules Doyle

Atlanta blockers Ozzy Kamakazi and Queen Looseyateefa managed to play strong defense throughout the opening play, but the Atlanta blockers never got the chance to mount offensive support for their jammers. During a power jam for Atlanta, caused by Sarah Hipel’s back block penalty, Atlanta grabbed 22 points on three consecutive jams, a chance that helped Atlanta get back into the game, 66-40.

After Barbara Ambush got Atlanta jammer Belle of the Brawl off her balance in the last third of the period, Texas blocker Pollygone forced a back block major, giving Texas their second power jam. During Belle’s minute in the box, Olivia Shootin John scored 18 points. Two jams later the scrum start between these two teams was so slow, packed so tightly, with such intense jostling that it took a full 40 seconds for the scrum to reach the apex between turns one and two. Atlanta ended the period on a power jam, closing the gap ever-so-slightly to enter the halftime down 44 points, 109-65.

“What you saw in the scrum start was skater equality on the track,” Smarty Pants said. “There were 10 strong skaters on the track, and that’s what it looks like when you have two strong teams on the track at one time, each giving it their all.”

Opening the second period, the two teams fought for small point accruals with a jammer do-si-do in the seventh jam offering Bruze Orman the opportunity to play with a 4-3 pack advantage to score off of Merchant of Menace’s earlier momentum. Texas used its official review during the ninth jam after some confusion regarding how long Atlanta jammer Hollicidal sat for a few seconds for her cut track major. The result of the official review put Hollicidal back in the box to serve the remainder of her penalty time and put Texas up 154-101 with 15:00 left in the period.

Steve Jurkovic Photography

The level of play, which was already at an eleven, had a dramatic and heated build in the minutes after Texas’ power jam. Atlanta took a timeout to re-focus their play, but the hits continued to increase with intensity, as skaters hit the floor in every turn of the track. Sarah Hipel went to the box for two minutes in the twelfth jam and received not only a back block but also an insubordination penalty for failing to leave the track quickly enough, giving Atlanta the chance they had waited for, to close the gap from Texas’ 180 and Atlanta’s 115.

“Atlanta is so strong, so impenetrable,” Smarty Pants said. “They’re powerful, and they hit so hard. And to counteract that, we’ve been working as a team on building dynamic, moveable walls.”

Despite spending time in the box, Texas’ Smarty Pants worked sometimes single-handedly or in tandem with blockers Fifi Nomenon and Pollygone to make Atlanta’s passes nearly impossible. During the second half, Texas kept Atlanta jammers from double-digit point acquisition in only one jam, whereas Texas managed double-digit jams in a handful of opportunities.

Texas used its strength of blockers and agility of jammers to come out victorious against Atlanta, winning the bout 227-134.

Final Score

Texas Rollergirls (Richmond #1) 227
Atlanta Rollergirls (Salem #2) 134

Texas advances to play the winner of Game 6 on Saturday at 6:00 pm CST in the first of two semi-final games.