Saint Paul, MN

by Shelly Shankya

Game 3 of the 2015 International WFTDA Championships was the fastest of the games so far, featuring speedy jukes by jammers from Arch Rival Roller Girls of St. Louis, Mo. (#3 D1 Tucson, #10) and big, blocking bumps from the Jacksonville RollerGirls of Jacksonville, Flo. (#2 D1 Jacksonville, #8). With six lead changes in the first period, the crowd at The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium remained mesmerized by the action on the track.

Photo by Keith Bielat

The first jam was so speedy, in fact, that it lasted only :20 as Arch Rival jammer Brickyard was forced to call off the jam as Jacksonville speedster Erin Jackson skated hot on her heels. The second jam was of note as well, but not for its speed. Arch Rival jammer Bricktator, a recent transfer from B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls, started the jam without the jammer helmet cover, took herself off the track, consulted with her bench, and then rejoined the action. Jacksonville jammer Krispy Kreme-Her called off the jam after three points, and then the ladies in black and gold called for an official review, contesting that Bricktator skated out of bounds. The non-call stood, however, and the overturned review rattled the Jacksonville skaters enough that Arch Rival scored 15 from jammer Mighty Mighty Boston on a power jam after Jamsterella cut the track.

Jacksonville answered back two jams later, scoring 18 points as Arch Rival jammer Swanson got a skating out of bounds while attempting to engage Krispy Kreme-Her in some jammer-on-jammer action. At that point, Jacksonville completed the second lead change of the game. The large blockers from Arch Rival out-sized and out-skated the blockers from Jacksonville, holding jammers behind tall walls and impressive braces. Blockers Shimmy Hoffa, K. Seiber and Rinehart held Jamsterella on numerous occasions, despite Jamsterella having a 2015 season average of 102 points per game. While it took eight jams for the Arch Rival skaters to regain the lead, it was due to blockers from the city of St. Louis that the lead changes were possible. The score stood tied at 36-36, with just over 12:00 on the period clock. From that point until just over 2:00 remaining in the period, the lead changed three more times.

Photo by Ryan Quick

The Jacksonville jammers remained stymied as Arch Rival kept them from making the large point hauls to which the New Jax City Rollers are accustomed. The two teams met previously in 2015, in August, and the Jacksonville skaters left the track victorious by a respectable margin, 193-112. And despite blocks from veterans Kat Von and Legs R Us, the Arch Rival All Stars rolled into half in the lead 80-57, as the fans cheered for the possibility of a seeding upset.

After what must have been a feisty halftime, the New Jax City Rollers came back to the track with a renewed vigor and fierceness unseen in the first half. The second jam saw Jacksonville jammer Erin Jackson with 13 points, more than four times the number of points that she scored in the first half. Jackson's speed is rivaled by only a few in the WFTDA, but it shines brightest in open lanes and straightaways, something the Arch Rival blockers kept from her in the first half. Also different from the first half were the large point gains by the Arch Rival jammers; in fact, the team had only one double-digit jam in the second while Jacksonville had four, and those four jams made the difference in the end.

The Jacksonville pack used strong pack awareness to keep their blockers engaged with their Arch Rival opponents; blockers Noam Bombsky and Eirinn Go Brawl maintained the pack for optimal blocking. Jammer Bricktator tried to take advantage of a power jam for Arch Rival by stealing points with an apex jump, but the pack reformed and she ended up with a cut track forced by Shady Godiva. That cut gave Erin Jackson the time and track space to score 18, a score that brought the point spread to within 12 points at 111-123 in favor of Arch Rival with just 7:15 remaining in the game.

Photo by Ryan Quick

There were missteps by both teams in the waning minutes: a track cut from jammers Jamsterella of Jacksonville and Brickyard from Arch Rival, as well as failed holds by blockers Shimmy Hoffa and Shear-Ra Powers. But a 15-point jam from Krispy Kreme-Her, followed by 12 unanswered points from Erin Jackson, the New Jax City Rollers regained the lead with just :46 on the game clock, up 141-135. To stop the clock, Arch Rival took a timeout and then Jacksonville took a timeout to give jammer Erin Jackson sufficient rest before she stepped back on the track with a win in her sights. Jacksonville had the pack advantage, with three blockers to Arch's two. Jackson sliced through the pack effortlessly, gained lead jammer and skated until the clock read zero to grab the chance to advance in bracket play.

The 35-6 point run in the final three jams of the game put the momentum in Jacksonville's favor and crumbled the hopes of the Arch Rival skaters, despite them having control of the game from the beginning of the second half until the game's penultimate jam. Jacksonville advances to play Gotham Girls Roller Derby on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

FINAL SCORE

Jacksonville RollerGirls (Jacksonville #2) 149
Arch Rival Roller Girls (Tucson #3) 141