Jacksonville, FL

By Anita Riot

The 5th place game of 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Jacksonville featured Tampa Roller Derby’s Tantrums (#18) against Detroit Derby Girls’ All Stars (#21). The odds were ever so slightly in Tampa’s favor as the higher seed and strong support from the Florida crowd. What looked to be a close game--with the first jam resulting in just a 1-0 score, by Detroit jammer Feta Sleeze--turned out to be a heavy-handed blow to Detroit with a 135-point differential. Tampa took a decisive lead in the second jam and never let it fall back in their opponent's’ hands, achieving a higher percentage of lead jammer status throughout the hour.

Photo by Ryan Quick

Tantrums jammer Taz Maniac used her strength and piston-like legs to power through the wall of black and score 12 points before Helen Killer passed her star to pivot. Jam 7 did see a momentum shift for Detroit, with a 7-0 jam from Swift Justice to make the score 21-15. But Tampa took back the energy, putting up more shutout jams and doubling Detroit’s score at 50-25 with a little over 11 minutes left in the half. Jam 19 saw an 18-0 surge by the Michigan team as their hard-hitting blockers held Smooth Operator and well-time offense from Racer McChaseHer allowed Feta Sleeze to skate three natural grand slams to shorten Tampa’s lead at 68-47.

With the last jam of the first half beginning with only 4 seconds on the period clock, Taz Maniac lost her lead jammer status to a low block penalty. Strong lateral blocking by Tampa defense only gave up 4 points to Feta Sleeze, however, putting the score at 99-55 at the break.

Photo by Joe Mac

The second half evolved much like the first, as the Tantrums kept the wind out of Detroit’s sails with quick lead grabs and smart jammer call offs. At 22:09, Tampa jammer Ana Cheng added another big chunk of points, zipping by the contenders for a 14-0 jam and creating more distance in the score at 137-63.

Despite their own jammers’ struggles with Tampa’s braced wall, blockers TKO and Lazer Beam for Detroit displayed strong partner work to stifle fancy-footed Little A. Unfortunately it was not enough to stop the bleeding as the score grew for Florida. In the second to last jam, Feta Sleeze received a penalty right after accepting a star pass from Meryl Slaughterburgh, which gave Tantrum’s a power start with 49 seconds on the period clock. Smooth Operator slipped by for lead and 5 more points before ending the game with a call off.

Tampa Roller Derby and Detroit Derby Girls hold their places from the original seeding at 5th and 6th place, respectively.

FINAL SCORE

Tampa Roller Derby (#5) 220
Detroit Derby Girls (#6) 85