By Jim Almy
Okay, so it takes Derby Liberation Front (DLF) a couple jams to get warmed up.
In their bout last Saturday night (March 15) at KeyArena against fellow Rat City Rollergirls foe Sockit Wenches, it was four jams. Then, seven minutes into the bout, they pulled ahead 26-24. DLF was feeling their game. The Sockit Wenches were feeling the heat.
The final score was 326-134 in favor of DLF. It left the winners undefeated at 3-0 entering next month’s championship bout against the 2-1 Throttle Rockets. It left the Sockit Wenches, 0-3, still seeking their first win of the year.
Most of the bout was the saga of an unfolding struggle between a team still rebuilding, maybe missing a piston here or a valve there, and a team that was firing on all cylinders and in perfect tune. That explains much of the final score. After four jams the Wenches had 24 points. After eight they still had 24 points. (Not necessary to ask how many points DLF had by then). In the ninth jam jammer Rawkhell SqWelch (#761) picked up four more points for the Wenches, bringing their total to 28, where it stayed for the next seven jams. (Still not necessary).
At the half it was 174-37.
Before the season began DLF Coach Ho Chi Danh had said that he thought his team had the best line that any team could put on the track at any time. They were all there Saturday.
“We, the whole team, couldn’t be happier with tonight’s play,” Danh said. “The teamwork was the best it’s been all year. You can see what it’s like when we have four blockers out there.”
The Sockit Wenches brought some fight to the track. They weren’t going to cede anything to DLF. Though they didn’t have the staying power the night required, they dished out measured and meaningful punishment when possible. Early in the night, sometime during the second jam, Wenches jammer Short Fuse (#11) — you could safely say that she is of somewhat diminutive stature — dropped The KZA (#6), a power jammer and physical skater for DLF, twice in the same jam. Not gently, either.
In the second half Sockit Wenches blockers extended valiant efforts to sidetrack the DLF scoring machine. Moe YaDown (#14), Kitty Kabooty (#524) and Belle Tolls (#4) held the points against to three in one jam, a victory of sorts all by itself.
DLF began winding down their attack as the bout neared its end, taking quick points and calling jams off after scoring three or four. The KZA did go out in the 19th jam to put on a show of her own, using only one blocker but really doing it mostly alone she piled up 28 points. She had 78 for the night. The aptly named Muscle Sprouts (#5280) led all scorers with 132 (two fewer then the Wenches team score), including individual jams of 20, 24 and 33. Her style defied defense as she would pirouette down the side line for one scoring pass, then strong arm her way through a wall of blockers on the next. Rookie Bam!!B (#444) added another 71 points to the DLF total. Endora Finn Rush (#42), Avihater (#47) and Domino Scarvy (#62) also took unaccustomed stints at jammer and, while they didn’t add many points, they showed the speed and agility that mark the entire DLF jamming crew.
Rawkhell SqWelch had 55 for the Sockit Wenches. Captain Penny Racer (#2) tallied 37 and Izzie Does It (#3) had 18.
DLF Coach Ho Chi Danh cited his captains, Rumble Fist (#9) and Full Nelson (#123) for their play. “They showed they were leaders out there,” he said, adding that, “the entire team was fantastic.”
For tickets to the Home Team Championship bout on 4/12 at KeyArena go to Ticketmaster.com