Jacksonville, FL

By Anita Riot

The Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center was abuzz Saturday night as local favorites Jacksonville Rollergirls’ New Jax City Rollers (#9) took on Denver Roller Derby’s Mile High Club (#5) of Colorado in the 8PM semifinal game Saturday. This battle with a bracket spot in the 2015 WFTDA International Championships on the line was supercharged from the start. New Jax kept Denver on high alert the entire game--which ended in an upset only the hosts seemed prepared for.

Photo by Louis Keiner

At first whistle, the Mile High Club drew first blood with a strong start. Captain Akers and her wall of blue sent Florida jammer Erin Jackson to the penalty box in the first jam, allowing Wilhelm to grab lead and a 5-0 score. Denver would hold onto that early lead for five more jams, but Jacksonville was hot on their tails, adding a few points each minute until they tipped the scoreboard in Jam 7. Jackson redeemed herself from the earlier folly with a natural grand slam while her blockers ensnared Denver’s Sharpless in a tightly braced box formation. That jam put the score at 13-19 in Jacksonville’s favor--who held the lead for the remainder of the hour.

Denver continued to lose their footing as the Florida defense frustrated their opponents jam after jam, and a dazzling three-jammer rotation took lead with a quickness before reaching turn two on the track. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Mile High Club closed the gap to only 10 points when Akers drew a track cut on Jackson and Denver’s Dezellem put a 13-0 in her pocket. Just two jams later, New Jax hit back with a huge 18-0 from Jamsterella while Denver’s defense took turns filling the penalty box. Packs lead by stalwart blockers Stephanie Gentz and Legs R Us continued to thwart the Colorado jammers’ attempts to edge their way out, neutralizing Blackman and Wilhelm’s lightning-fast footwork. By the end of the first half, the hometown team had stretched the lead to 100-55.

Photo by Ryan Quick

The second half saw Jackson take the line again, but this time she avoided a penalty and took lead and a 5-0 over Wilhelm. Each time Denver had a successful jam, Jacksonville picked up the pace to stay two strides ahead. At the 20 minute mark, a jammer penalty dosy-do and a sudden surge of strength seemed to foreshadow a comeback. A meltdown of New Jax defense ensued as the white and leopard-clad blockers took turns serving 30-second infractions. Denver’s jammers chipped away at the score, while their defense forced Jacksonville jammers to pass the star cap or sit their own time in the sin bin.

Denver put their rookie jammer Dew in the mix--who delivered lead jammer status and points to their side. A sudden misstep by Jamsterella stuck her in the box with a low block on her record, giving Wilhem a power start to take a near game-changing 14-0 jam, which reduced the gap to 145-160. With 8 minutes left of gameplay, another lead change was within reach. As both teams regained composure and full packs, the race to the finish line showed that Jacksonville would not buckle under pressure. At 1:55, Wilhelm and Jackson met once more. With both packs moving at a slow grind, Jackson managed to burst out for lead just as her teammates knocked Wilhelm out of bounds and lead the contender back to the pivot line. The crowd was in an uproar as Jackson called off the jam, leaving 1 minute on the period clock and her teams’ fate to Krispy Kreme-her. When Krispy made short work of taking lead status, not a single fan was seated. The audience rushed the track just as the period clock ticked down and whistles blew. Krispy had incurred a penalty simultaneous to calling the jam off. Denver called an official review in attempt to get another jam out of the deal, but the request was denied and the win went to Jacksonville 163-193.

“The team chant for this season was ‘less is more,’” shared Jacksonville coach Streak.

“We worked on our mental game, and told ourselves we wouldn’t allow more than three jams in a row to get out of our control,” added Stephanie Gentz about her team’s preparation. “We stayed confident in our abilities and just knew we could win if we did it together.”

The New Jax City Rollers earned their ticket to Championships and will play London Brawling in the final game Sunday at 6PM for 1st. Denver has a chance for 3rd when they take on Atlanta Rollergirls at 4PM.

FINAL SCORE

Denver Roller Derby (#2) 163
Jacksonville Rollergirls (#3) 193