Jacksonville, FL

By Whacks Poetic

The final game of the 2015 International WFTDA Playoffs Jacksonville saw host league and Denver Roller Derby upsetters, the Jacksonville RollerGirls, take on #1 seed, the London Rollergirls from London, England, UK. Jacksonville came into the tournament ranked third and advanced to the first place game by beating Detroit Derby Girls in the quarterfinals and Denver Roller Derby in the semifinals. London Rollergirls beat Steel City Roller Derby and the Atlanta Rollergirls to find themselves fighting for first in this Florida playoff. In this final game, London would reign victorious, 272-126.

Photo by Louis Keiner

The start of the game saw long jams with first passes lasting 30 seconds or more, even with dedicated offense from both teams. Erin Jackson started the game with lead jammer and 9 points for Jacksonville over Lexi Lightspeed and her London crew. Stefanie Mainey would then don the star for the Brits and put up 25 points as Krispy Kreme-her was stuck behind Die Die and Kid Block. The pack was a mishmash of white and black as both teams fought to get their jammer out and to hold back their opponent. Jacksonville ran into some trouble when in Jams 5 and 6 their jammers went the box three times. This allowed London to build their lead to 82-22. Jacksonville's toe stop spinning foot work would give them two great jams and close the gap, 90-50 as Jamsterella and Erin Jackson put up points for the home team. Krispy Kreme-Her would add to that total when Stefanie Mainey committed a back block. With 20 minutes gone, London had achieved a nearly 2 to 1 lead, 102-58 and Jacksonville had shortened their jammer rotation to Erin Jackson and Jamsterella. Unfortunately, after a star pass, Jamsterella found herself stuck in jam after jam as a blocker with various penalties on very potent hits. This allowed Krispy Kreme-her to take the line once more and put up 10 points for Jacksonville as Rogue Runner cut the track. At the half, the score was 151-83

Photo by Louis Keiner

The second half saw some toe stop spinning on London's behalf with Trisha Smackanawa put up 8 points with Erin Jackson stuck in the pack. Lexi LIghtspeed followed suit spinning past Stephanie Gentz on the inside line to earn lead and 13 points. London passed the 200-point mark with 20 minutes left in the game, 203-83. Jacksonville put up their first points of the period in the next two jams with Rogue Runner again in the box. Erin Jackson and Jamsterella put up 14 points in two jams to push Jacksonville closer to the century mark. A new point scorer would tip them over the edge with Patti Smithereens putting up nine points for the local team. The very next jam would see a 4-3 win for Jacksonville on a two minute jam where the pack made it to just out of turn 2. London would amp up the intensity outscoring their opponents 49-4 in the last 15 minutes.

In the end, London clinched first place, winning 272-126, and earning the first round bye at Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Nov 6-8. Jacksonville will find out which third place seed they will face in two weeks at the end of the 2015 WFTDA International Playoffs Omaha.

1st place: London Rollergirls
2nd place: Jacksonville Rollergirls

FINAL SCORE

London Rollergirls (#1) 272
Jacksonville RollerGirls (#3) 126