Nothing beats the taste of home cookin’. For St. Charles County’s finest on quads, they wish to serve a dish piping hot this weekend.
The St. Chux Derby Chix, ranked #63 internationally by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), battles #72 Twin City Derby Girls Saturday at Matteson Square Gardens Tri-Plex in St. Peters (3051 Industrial Park Place West.)
The stakes are high for SC/DC’s Pack In Black, whose prerogative is to keep its unblemished record intact following a dominant performance two Saturdays ago.
St. Chux utilized a second-period push against #81 Old Capitol City en route to a 216-103 road victory in Coralville, IA. Up 108-63 at intermission, the Pack In Black outscored the pesky Iowans 108-40 in the second period to improve to 2-0 in WFTDA-sanctioned play.
“SC/DC has a ferocity and hunger this season that continues to amaze me,” said Pack In Black blocker Whip L’ Ash. “We plan on going into (Saturday’s) bout just like every other, business as usual.”
Photo Credit: Jeff Higgins
That business has reaped high rewards thus far as SC/DC moved up five positions in the current WFTDA rankings and is three spots away from rolling into “Top 60” status.
If St. Chux hits that benchmark and retains it by end of June, it would be eligible for its inaugural trip to the WFTDA’s playoff tournament for Division 2 leagues. A solid win this Saturday over the comparable squad from Champaign-Urbana, IL arguably maintains SC/DC’s overall goal.
“We are extremely hungry for a spot in the D2 tournament,” said L’ Ash. “The wins that we have had this season continues to add fuel to that fire.”
However, the ravenous appetite must be tempered against a league positioned nine spots behind. According to L’ Ash, SC/DC is level-headed heading into Saturday’s battle.
“Before every game, I tell my girls to forget about the past wins, don’t worry about the future, and focus one jam at a time,” said the St. Chux lynchpin. “If we do our processes, and play as a team, the score should take care of itself.”
Projected starters in jamming are veterans Flash, G.I. Jamie, Jedi Knight-N-Gale and Vixen Ta Getcha. Blocking will be paced by L’ Ash, Ninja Sass ‘Em, Pixie Dust-ruction, SlaughterHaus, Zo D. Axe, Bobbie Slamher, Tara Eyes, Zombie F-Bomb, Jane Error and Stabby McCutcha.
Overall in the ledger, it’s the same line-up that SC/DC has fielded since the season’s onset, one that has blossomed during its current undefeated campaign.
“I do believe that we have improved drastically this year with the exponential growth in abilities from returning skaters, as well as the new edition of McCutcha to our blocking core and Knight-N-Gale to our jammer line up, only furthering our depth as a team,” said L’ Ash.
The squad looks to bring its upward collective play against a squad that looks for similar ascension.
Twin City Derby Girls picked up a 232-86 non-sanctioned victory over the Naptown Warning Belles in late-January to start its season on a positive note. The 144-point road victory over the Indianapolis, IN B-team was the direct effect of both improved skill sets on the flat-track and disciplined preparation off-track.
“We’ve been very focused on our game, which has been complimented by a deliberate and intense off-skates training program,” said TCDG captain Terror Misu. “Our game against the Warning Belles helped us strengthen some of our strategies, and of course, we are always building on fundamentals to tighten game play.”
Saturday’s bout will be Twin City’s first WFTDA-sanctioned bout of the season. Just like SC/DC, the Central Illinois travelers look for an identical climb up the rankings’ hierarchy.
“Every game between now and June 30th was scheduled with D2 playoffs in mind, so there is no letting up,” said Misu. “Each bout is an opportunity to put us in position for playoffs and we are laser-focused on that.”
Twin City jamming will be paced by Houchebag, Anthrobrawlogist and Maven Detta. Alongside Misu, TCDG blocker Dame Sangre will see plenty of track time, and the blocking schema will be complemented by a hard-charging collective that was tantamount to the January win at Indianapolis.
Photo Credit: Jeff Higgins
Historically between the two leagues, Twin City holds a 1-0 edge in WFTDA-sanctioned play with a 247-124 win recorded last July. However, the leagues’ familiarity with each other runs several years deep with prior unsanctioned bouts. Saturday’s match-up, according to Misu, is projected to bring the same intensity seen in previous battles.
“SC/DC has been one of our biggest rivals since 2010,” said the TCDG captain. “They are focused, disciplined, and continue to develop their game, which is why we love playing them.”
The flat-track respect is reciprocated by SC/DC’s L’ Ash, who has been a part of every prior encounter.
“Twin Cities is a team with similar ability and they tend to always bring extremely tough competition,” the blocker said. “They are never to be underestimated.”
One thing that could potentially propel St. Chux to a win, and maintain its spotless record, would be a large local contingent in the stands.
“SC/DC loves to win, period, but winning at home with a huge crowd helping us rally takes the cake,” said L’ Ash. “It’s that support that keeps us doing what we love, so please come out and cheer us on!”
The visitors are fully aware of the Pack In Black’s intentions and would love nothing more than to give the hostesses a case of the sour belches Saturday night.
“We are two teams who give it our all with every match-up and you never know who will come out on top until the final minutes of the game,” said Misu. “With that in mind, we are ready.”
The 6 p.m. twin-bill begins with an undercard bout featuring SC/DC’s B-team, the Hell’s Belles, against the Arch Rival Roller Girls’ C-team, the Fleur De’Linquents.
The Hell’s Belles (2-0) netted February wins over Confluence Crush (242-92) and Omaha AAA (135-106) to start its season. Saturday’s bout will be the first for the ARRG Fleur De’Linquents in its 2014 campaign.
For more information on the St. Chux Derby Chix, which includes a link to discounted tickets for this event, go to stchuxderbychix.com.
