Jacksonville, FL

By Anita Riot

The sixth and final Friday game at the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Jacksonville saw hometown hosts Jacksonville RollerGirls (#9) take on the Detroit Derby Girls (#21) from Michigan.

Photo by Ryan Quick

Quick jams were the name of the game for this bout. Jacksonville jammers made short work of grabbing lead status and a handful of points while their blockers made a marked effort to sprint at just the right time to prevent Detroit from scoring. This strategy was evident from the start, as New Jax held Detroit scoreless for 10 jams--which equaled roughly 10 minutes of play. Just as Detroit’s jammers would have a breath of success with a lead call or a few points, the Florida defense would shut them down for another five minutes, give or take.

Jacksonville took a strong start with Jamsterella bolting for lead jammer and taking a 5-0. But Detroit responded by pulling a track cut penalty on New Jax jammer Erin Jackson, allowing Helen Killer an 8-0 jam. That was the only time Detroit held the lead, however. The two points Feta Sleeze squeezed out of Jam 3 against Krispy Kreme-Her’s 14 own for Jacksonville was the last the Michigan team put on the board before their first several-jam shut out.

Helen Killer was the only Detroit jammer who achieved lead jammer status in the first 20 jams of the game. Brutal partner blocking from the likes of Stephanie Gentz and Fancy Schmancy forced penalties on the players from Michigan. Finally, at Jam 21, Detroit’s defense stifled Jamsterella to allow their own Swift Justice two natural grand slams for a 10-1 jam in their favor. Detroit gained lead status again the next jam, but Jacksonville offense delivered their jammer just in time to force Detroit to call it off. The end of the first half saw lead awarded to Krispy Kreme-Her and a track cut to Helen Killer, though the red defense stuffed Krispy enough to keep her from scoring, leaving the score 119-33.

Photo by Ken LeBleu

“One thing we knew we had to do was get our penalties on lockdown,” Detroit’s Racer McChaseHer said about her team’s halftime regroup.

In the second half, Detroit kept up with the Florida team’s fast pace with blockers Racer McChaseHer and captain Lazer Beam at the helm. But Jacksonville inched ever farther away with each jam as they held their northwestern competitors in two more scoreless runs, 5 and 6 jams long each. At the end of the second rout, the host league had stretched the lead to 208-51. With 12 minutes left in the game, Detroit managed to reassemble and began sending opponents to the penalty box, giving jammers like Merly Slaughterburgh enough time to steal away a few more points. As time ticked away, Jacksonville cruised to a 262-71 victory.

“We worked on building a strong defense and our jammers performed really well. It was nice to see it all come together,” Erin Jackson shared after the game.

Jacksonville goes on to play Denver Roller Derby in the semifinals Saturday at 8 pm to determine which team gets to play in the final game and receive an invitation to Championships in November. Detroit will take on Pikes Peak Derby Dames at 10 am Saturday.

FINAL SCORE

Jacksonville Rollergirls (#9) 262
Detroit Derby Girls (#21) 71