Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
(BALLWIN, MO) Results at Saturday’s flat-track frenzy for Arch Rival Roller Derby (ARCH) and GateKeepers Roller Derby (GKRD) saw a pair of teams notch their respective initial triumphs of the 2018 campaign.
In the women’s opener, the Stunt Devils topped the M-80s, 222-157, while in the men’s night cap, the Creve Coroners bested the Raiders of Forest Park, 199-109.
The six-game regular season series for both leagues continues at Queeny Park’s Midwest Sport Hockey on Saturday, February 3.
ARCH: STUNT DEVILS 222 M-80s 157
Already suffering from a setback at last month’s season opener, the Stunt Devils were thrown numerous curve balls prior to the first whistle being blown. A pair of injuries and a pair of ineligibles whittled the dare devils’ roster to eleven players, which is just an eyelash away from being too minimal.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Facing adversity, the Stunts utilized numerous power jams, including an imperative rotation with less than five minutes remaining, to secure 65-point victory and even their record to 1-1.
“I think we just wanted to mostly keep our cool,” assessed Stunt Devils’ jammer Ultraviolet on the team’s pre-game strategy that inevitably became bountiful. “We knew that we were down people but knew that we’ve got a great, deep bench. We just wanted to keep it together and play smart and I think we did a good job with that.”
Tied 7-7 four jams in, Stunt Devils’ jammer Bricktator, returning to the line-up after rehabbing an injury the month prior, produced a 29-point jam at the 23:00 mark that pushed the score to 36-7.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Then after the M-80s collected a pair of points two jams later, the Stunts widened the score to 54-15 via Ultraviolet’s 18-6 strike at the 18:17 mark.
M-80s’ jammer BEECH, PLEASE! spotted a four-point pass in Jam 10, but the Stunt Devils pushed back and with Aggie Wartooth’s 14-pointer scored with 15:35 left in the period, their lead blossomed to 72-19.
The M-80s rebounded before the differential got too out of control and collected a 28-9 run over the next three jams. Newcomer Bad Axe notched a four-pointer, Megabirch added a grand slam power jam in Jam 13 and Axe finished the rally with a 19-9 rotation that made the score 81-47 with 10:50 left in the period.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
As the period progressed, momentum perpetually shifted between the squads on quads and heading into the final jam of the half, the Stunts possessed a 119-70 advantage.
In the final rotation, the M-80s snared a much-needed power jam and capitalized with BEECH’s 18-8 output. Despite the huge deficit midway through the frame, the lumberjacks sawed the score to 127-88 at intermission.
The first nine minutes of the second half saw the teams trade lead jams and multi-lap passes and the M-80s were able to chop away at the Stunts’ lead and only trailed 151-122 with 20:50 left in the game.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
The Stunts’ blocking schema, consisting of Cruella Belle-ville, Fletch-A-Sketch, Lethal Dose, Joan of Spark, Bruise Almighty, Pegassass and Nox, held steady and helped the offense produce a 24-4 stretch over the next four jams. Beginning with Bricktator’s 10-pointer with 19:40 remaining and finished by Wartooth’s similar collection via a power jam two rotations later, the Stunt Devils’ lead widened to 175-126.
With blocking paced by Lumberjam, Ginger, Snoop Dogwood, Jenny Loggins, Fight Shrub, Sumack Down, Chop It Like It’s Hot, Sequoia Destro-Ya and Maul Bunyan, the M-80s were certainly game for a comeback. A 21-8 rally, punctuated by Twig E. Smalls’ two-point punch with six minutes left, shored the score to 183-143.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
However on the next rotation, the Stunts clinched victory as a power jam benefitted Bricktator, whose 18-point strike with 4:04 left staved the potential of a log jam and pushed the score to 201-143.
The Stunt Devils outscored the M-80s in the second period, 95-67, en route to the 222-155 triumph that netted the team sole possession of second place in the ARCH standings. Bricktator’s 90 points topped the overall ledger followed by Wartooth’s 55 and PsychoKid D’Freakout’s 44.
“I know Aggie’s really pushy and awesome and Tator’s magical and Kid’s got some amazing footwork,” assessed Ultraviolet, who notched 33 points on the night. “I feel like complement each other very well.”
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Bad Axe’s M-80s’ debut yielded 53 points followed by BEECH’s 50. The M-80s (0-1) return to action in February and will tangle with the first-place Smashinistas (1-0). Having high-scoring jammer Shoulder, CO back into the fold will assist the mateys in their desire to create havoc in the hierarchy by snagging a win and creating a three-way tie in the ARCH standings.
“Going into this game, we knew that we were going to be down a few skaters,” said co-captain Snoop Dogwood afterwards. “But our coaches just reminded us that we needed to be there for each other and lift each other up. We utilized our new people really well and I’m really excited with how well they did tonight.”
For more information on Arch Rival Roller Derby, go to their official website.
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
STUNT DEVILS (222): Bricktator 90, Aggie Wartooth 55, Psychokid D’ Freakout 44, Ultraviolet 33.
M-80s (155): Bad Axe 53, BEECH, PLEASE! 50, Twig E. Smalls 19, Snoop Dogwood 10, Lumberjam 8, Megabirch 5.
Here is the post-game interview after the event.
GKRD: CREVE CORONERS 199 RAIDERS OF FOREST PARK 109
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Winners of only a pair of games altogether in the team’s two-year history, which included last season’s asterisk-marked duke via forfeit, projecting the Creve Coroners’ Saturday play in advance against the Raiders of Forest Park was difficult.
After the final whistle blew and the medics rolled out an impressive 90-point win, one wouldn’t be out of line to predict, at this early stage of the season, that this squad just might be trophy contenders in April.
A balanced mix of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers highlighted the Coroners’ triumph. A 24-0 launch in the game’s first eight minutes certainly helped the cause.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
With blocking paced by Nix, Boney Fangers, Double Excel, Hulk, Otter Nonsense, baby legs and Wrecks Appeal, the Coroners commanded a 38-12 lead following Magnum P.I.M.P.’s 14-point strike with 17:50 left in the half.
Newcomer Beddes made the most of his GKRD debut and followed with a 19-point jam that pushed the score to 57-12.
As the period advanced, so did the scoring ledger of the Coroners’ jamming rotation. Shred Astaire’s nine-pointer in the period’s penultimate jam pushed the team past triple-digits as the lead grew to 103-39.
Magnum’s nine-pointer in the half’s final rotation gave the Coroners a 112-39 lead at intermission.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
In the second period, the Coroners kept the momentum rolling with a 35-0 push out of the gates. With scoring paced by Magnum and newcomer Jammy Pacquiao, the medics’ lead swelled to triple-digits, 147-39.
To their credit, the Raiders refused to wave the white flag and started to play a little more disciplined as the period progressed. Jammer D. Mouthful, Arty Panimal and Mud would claim lead jams and power jams to help push positive play and blockers Spin Diesel, Atom Bomb, Nate Bower, Woolsy Mammoth, Dr. Dredd, Slammin’ T. Killa, Cunningham and Carly Slay Jepsen helped shorten the differential to under a hundred while conversely double the amount of points accumulated compared to their opening stanza.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
The Coroners outscored the Raiders, 77-70, in the second half en route to the 199-109 and force a two-way tie with defending Turf Wars’ kingpin Central West Friends (1-0) on the Turf Wars’ totem pole. The pair will duel for the GKRD top slot on February 3 at Midwest Sport Hockey.
The Raiders (0-2) are idle until February 24.
For more information on GateKeepers Roller Derby, go to their official website.
