(JACKSONVILLE, FL) A pair of St. Louis-based flat-track roller derby franchises collectively finished 3-1 in its weekend expedition to the Sunshine State.
Image Credit: Dallis Meyer
GateKeepers Roller Derby, currently ranked second internationally by the Men’s Roller Derby Association (MRDA), notched a sweep with its victories over #12 Magic City, 222-116, on Saturday and unranked Tampa, 422-21, on Sunday.
Meanwhile the Arch Rival Roller Girls, currently ranked #11 globally by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), earned a split during the weekend with its 193-112 Saturday setback to #9 Jacksonville and a 261-116 topper over #18 Tampa Tantrums Sunday morning.
In its MRDA-sanctioned bout Saturday night, the GateKeepers (7-1) outmuscled Magic City in the first period, 149-41, to grab a sizable halftime cushion. The Jacksonville-based squad mightily outscored St. Louis in the second period by a whisker, 75-73, but the Gateway City rollers maintained its intermission differential for the 106-point win.
On Sunday, the GateKeepers picked up its second straight win, and the Floridian sweep, with its 401-point dismantling of Tampa. The 422-21 victory marked the fourth time this season that St. Louis had a winning differential of over 300 points.
On the women’s side, Arch Rival (13-1 in WFTDA-sanctioned games and 14-1 overall) saw itself behind the eight-ball early Saturday as the higher-ranked New Jax City Rollers utilized a 45-0 sprint off of the game’s first couple of minutes. Paced by the methodical work of the hostesses, visiting St. Louis trailed 112-56 at intermission.
Arch Rival launched several scoring spurts in the second period to tighten the game to around fifty points, but a late groundswell of Duval County ducats helped New Jax outscore St. Louis, 81-56, en route to the 81-point win that handed Arch Rival its first loss of the season.
In Sunday morning’s affair against Tampa, an early roll of points gave Arch Rival a 48-17 edge after ten jams. A 34-0 rally followed to extend the lead to 82-17.
The Tampa Tantrums methodically chipped away at the deficit and, at one point, narrowed the game to a solo-digit affair, 105-94. Arch Rival responded with a 29-0 jam on the next rotation to push the lead to 134-94.
St. Louis proceeded to wear out the opposition and post points, widening the score to 178-101 with nine minutes remaining in the game. Arch Rival netted the 261-116 win over #18 Tampa that pushed its WFTDA-sanctioned mark to 13-1.
The GateKeepers return to action this weekend at home for its two-day invitational, “River City Warm-Up,” at Midwest Sport Hockey in Ballwin, Missouri. A full preview of the six-league, eight-game event will be featured at Arch City Sports this Wednesday.
Arch Rival now prepares for the WFTDA Division 1 post-season. As the third-seed, St. Louis battles sixth-seeded Des Moines United in the quarterfinal round held in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday, September 4.
For more information on GateKeepers Roller Derby, go to stlgatekeepers.com.
For more information on the Arch Rival Roller Girls, go to archrivalrollergirls.com.
(Story constructed by the official Facebook Page of the Arch Rival Roller Girls All-Stars as well as additional reporting from Vince Hannity.)
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.
