Dallas, TX

by Shelly Shankya

Dallas Derby Devils’ Army of Darkness (#6) looked like they had all the momentum from Game 6, bottled and ready to plow through Ohio Roller Girls (#9) in Game 8 of Day 2 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoff in Dallas, Tex. Ohio wasn’t so easily defeated, though, as the jamming from The Smacktivist from Ohio had the Dallas blocking team on high alert.

Photo by Christopher Cross

Dallas drew early points with continued blocking excellence from The Little Murdermaid and Gillotine Grace, two veterans for the Army of Darkness. Miley Virus managed to rack-up 15 points in jam two due to her blocking prowess, holding Ohio jammer Kitty Liquorbottom for the entire two minutes. Two Dallas jammer penalties, however, gave Ohio the opportunity to score and bring the game within a handful of points. The Smacktivist, the team’s leading scorer utilized great communication with their pack to set up plays when necessary, and also to indicate to their pack how long blockers had in the box. When Ohio jammers went to the box, Dallas spent the majority of its time playing passive offense, only moving to strong offense when jammers requested it. The Army of Darkness remained vocal throughout play, from jammer to blockers and between blockers.

“We had Victorian Roller Derby League (Melbourne, Australia #3 in WFTDA) visit and play us, and we realized we had a lot of work to do if we wanted to compete with stronger teams,” Gillotine Grace, Dallas blocker, said. “Our time with them helped set the focus for our season, and we have continued to work on communication.”

Both teams used their official reviews during the first period, and both requested track cut calls against their opposing jammer; both teams’ requests went unfilled, and both lost their reviews for the period. By the end of the period, The Smacktivist had scored all but 12 points for Ohio, with assistance from Bigg Rigg Kitty, and Sasskicker. For Dallas, Miley Virus was the lead scorer with 38 points in the first half. Dallas maintained a narrow lead, heading into half, 94-87 over Ohio.

Photo by Danny Ngan

At two times during the second period, Ohio nearly accomplished a lead change, but Dallas answered each strong jam for Ohio with one of their own. The home town advantage helped, also, as the audience members cheered as voraciously as Dallas blockers held Ohio jammers. Ohio was especially riled during the sixth jam, as jammer Burnadeath failed to make it through the pack during the two-minute jam, and pivot Texas Chainsaw Sasskicker went to the penalty box twice during the jam, and Dallas jammer Anita Riot scored 9 unanswered points. Ohio was closest to Dallas in jam 15, with just over 11:00 remaining in the game, when they edged the point spread to two: 143-141. The Army of Darkness never released their grip, tightening their hold on the scoreboard. Again, both teams used their official reviews to request a track cut call on the opposing jammer, and again each review was denied. With seconds remaining, the Dallas crowd knew the home-town favorites would advance in consolation play, and the auditorium erupted.

“Playing at home has been great because of our fans,” Gillotine Grace said. “It’s been tough, though, to skate and organize this tournament. We’re hoping to rest and regroup tonight so that we can put things into focus for tomorrow’s game.”

Dallas advances to play a different Australian team, Sun State Roller Girls at 6:00 on Saturday night, while Ohio Roller Girls move to play Rideau Valley Roller Girls (#10) for ninth place on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

FINAL SCORE

Dallas Derby Devils (#6) 174
Ohio Roller Girls (#9) 159