Rat City All-Stars roll over Montreal

by Jim Almy

Nearing the halfway point in the first 30 minutes of their bout last Friday, May 16, at the Rat’s Nest, the Rat City Rollergirls All-Star Team and the visiting New Skids on the Block from Montreal were still testing each other. Up to that point strong defense and quick jam calls had kept the score close. It was 20-10 in favor of the locals. They would win this one 202-124.

The New Skids were playing a slow-them-down pace, their large line of blockers keeping AST jammers pounding but bottled up, scoring in the twos, threes and fours.

AST had the aggression needed against the New Skids plugging tactics, just taking a few jams to solve the New Skids style. In jam 11 jammer Full Nelson (#123) exploded for 14 points, opening the lead to 34-10. AST blockers also began dragging New Skids jammers, effectively neutralizing their scoring opportunities. Raven Seaward (#53), bumped New Skids jammer Miracle Whips (#123) twice in the previous jam, then recycled her so far back that she was still dragging when the jam was called off. AST blockers Missile America (#321) and Shorty Ounce (#14) employed the same technique in jam 11, hitting New Skids jammer The Honey Badger (#F18) hard enough to send her out of bounds, then twice recycling her well behind the pack. High fives were given all around.

New Skids Coach Ewan Wotarmy called her first time out at that point, hoping to regroup her team, keep the lead from getting any bigger. Things didn’t go her way in the next jam. AST jammer Luna Negra (#911) escaped the pack in three strides while blockers Raven Seaward and Carmen Getsome (#12) held New Skids jammer Greta Bobo (#8080) in check. Approaching the pack after two passes and ten points Luna Negra looked for the usual six inch lane that she can turn into a passing highway. New Skids blockers George W. Tush (#40) and Chasing Amy (#454) headed for that small opening when AST blocker Teddy Rupp (#505) stopped them dead, then pushed them back while Luna Negra zipped by for four more points. It was now 48-10. Carmen made sure more high fives were shared.

The Montreal all-star team, ranked twelfth by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) as of April 30, was watching their eighteenth ranked opponent widen the margin with every jam.

Near the end of the first half Rawkhell SqWelch (#761), who led all scorers for the night with 72, picked up 14 points in a jam in which she completed her first pass by separating New Skids blocker Smack Daddy (#3X) from the track and her last pass courtesy of an opening made for her by Missile America.

It was 109-69 after 30 minutes.

AST had been cited for 19 penalties, New Skids for 14. At the end of the bout penalties tilted against the AST, 35-23. Coach Ho Chi Danh attributed his team’s aggressive play for their extra time in the penalty box.

“I knew we had that game in us,” he said after the bout. “We were a little worried because we didn’t have Trippy (all star jammer Sintripetal Force, #1618, out with a leg injury suffered in the AST win over the Sacred City Sacrificers on May 10), but we have so many players who can jam and block. We just had to get used to how physical their blocking was.”

AST’s 40 point margin grew bigger in the second half. By the fifth jam they had more than doubled the New Skids at 149-73. The visitors were having trouble scoring more than a few points in each jam and were shut out in 15 of the 25 jams in the final 30 minutes. AST was just more efficient, averaging 4.2 points per jam for the bout. The New Skids had a little under 2.6 ppj.

With about eight minutes left in the bout and the home team leading 197-114 the fourth AST blocker went to the penalty box. That stopped everything as Sami Automatic (#22), Teddy Rupp, Shorty Ounce and Raven Seaward all sat in the sin bin while jammer Carmen Getsome found herself all alone on the track against a full New Skids team. Rules were sorted out, needing a team to have at least one blocker on the track at all times. Shorty Ounce, the last offender, was allowed back. New Skids jammer Miracle Whips, with three AST blockers in the sin bin most of the jam, still could only pick up three points. Carmen Getsome and Shorty Ounce can play defense as well as any four blockers. More high fives.

“This is not what we wanted,” said New Skids Coach Ewan Wotarmy. “We haven’t seen much of Rat City this year but we knew they were strong and we expected a hard game.” The New Skids not only had a hard game, they had a hard weekend, losing to the Rose City’s Wheels of Justice in Portland the next day, 306-109, and dropping a bout in Olympia to the Oly Rollers Cosa Nostra Donnas 230-174 on Sunday. Rose City held the number five ranking among WFTDA teams worldwide as of April 30. The Oly Rollers were ranked at 14.

In addition to Rawkhell SqWelch’s 72 points other AST jammers who scored included Luna Negra, 56, Carmen Getsome, 35, Full Nelson, 34, Wreck N Shrew (#24), 2, and P. Wilhelm (#9), 3. Coach Ho Chi Danh said that he enjoyed the play of Nelson and Carmen. “They don’t normally jam,” he said. The two combined for 69 points, 55 in the second half. Danh also said that he thought Raven Seaward had a great game and he was happy to see Domino (#62) in her first all star game in five years. He was impressed by the number of high fives. “I like high fives,” he said.

Mel E Juana (#420) led the New Skids jammers with 57 points. Miracle Whips had 15, The Honey Badger, 40, and Greta Bobo, 12.

Next up for the AST on June 7 at KeyArena is the Jet City Roller Girls Bombers. The Rain of Terror (ROT) will open that night’s action against the Silicon Valley Roller Girls Dot.Kamikazes. For tickets and info go HERE

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