I5 Rollergirls win squeaker over Fort Wayne

Death by Beth and Gory Locks combine to stop a Fort Wayne jammer
Photo by Whamsday Adams

If Fort Wayne had any questions about how the Northwest game of roller derby was played before they played the Galaxy Girls, they were definitely gone when they faced the I5 Rollergirls on Saturday evening at the Southgate Roller Rink. Hard hits and physical play were the order of the day and both teams were more than happy to deliver!

The bout had more lead changes than I have fingers (by one) and one of the most amazing finishes I have seen this year.

I5 started it off in their usual way with Lex Celerator showing her speed skating greatness and picking up a 9-0 decision, but Fort Wayne was not deterred. Malibruise Barbie, Mac Attack and Cleo Paintra all slapped some points on the scoreboard on their way to the first lead change, but it was Cleo's 14 point jam while Audrey Headburn was sitting in the penalty box along with some very impressive blocking by Liv-R-Die and Buttercup which brought them to a 24-21 advantage in the 9th Jam.

That seemed to light a fire under the I5 blockers and the physical game stepped up a notch. Over the next five jams I-5 outscored the Fort Wayne lineups 13-0, but only to the tune of a few points per jam as both teams began to slog it out in the pack and the penalties began to mount. Fort Wayne clawed back once more to take the lead (48-47) powered by some awesome blocking by Bad Kitty and Liv-R-Die as they opened lanes on I5, but at the half it was I-5 on top by a mere two points! This was a definite omen of things to come!

The second half saw I-5 employing the 4 and out strategy which is a hallmark of strategic roller derby. Get your jammer through for lead, grab your four points and call it before the other jammer can get back into the pack. This worked very well and they managed to get a 22 point lead (the largest of the game) before Hunt-Her-Down gave up a 17 point power jam to Mak-Attack which launched Fort Wayne right back into the game! They continued riding that momentum all the way the lead at 102-108, but I-5 took it right back with a 9 point blast by Lex Celerator.

Liv Vicious tried to extend the lead, but the Fort Wayne blockers were having none of it! The entire pack seemed to swarm Liv wherever she tried to get through. Bad Kitty, Buttercup, Cleo Paintra and Trademark were a site to behold as they stopped Liv cold and allowed Mak Attack to post up 13 points and take the lead yet again!

The next two jams were a see-saw affair and both teams gained the lead over the other before the final two jams were in the offing. And these? These were two of the most exciting roller derby I have seen!

Lex Celerator and Traqdemark started off the jam with I5 ahead 116-115with 2:00:02 left on the clock Lex fought through for lead jammer and slapped up four points before being called off for cutting the track a little over a minute into the jam! Trademark had already answered back for four of her own so all she had to do was score two more points and run out the clock. She got her two and sped around to try to get four more as the jam clock wound down. Reed d Rules whistled the jam finished with 2 seconds left and I5 coach Nasty Nicky ran onto the track with her hands in a T screaming for her time out to stop the clock! Two seconds left, Lex Celerator standing in the box and the Fort Wayne phenom Mac Attack standing on the jammer line with a 121-120 lead waiting for the time out to finish... but that was not how it would turn out!

During the time out, the refs conferred and determined that Trademark had run into the back of an I5 blocker for a major penalty! She would be sent to the box and there would be no jammer to start the jam! With Lex already standing which meant that Trademark would have about a minute to serve while her team tried to stop on of the best jammers the Northwest has to offer while holding only a one point lead!

Lex clawed her way through the pack as the Fort Wayne Blockers tried desperately to stop her and gained lead jammer, then fought through again for the grand slam before slapping her hands to her hips to end the game! I-5 had the lead and the victory by a mere 4 point margin 125-121!

What a finish! An extremely strong reminder, as Elwood said in his article, that if you are not watching junior derby, you are definitely missing out!

Three stars for Fort Wayne -

Buttercup - This girl was a force to be reckoned with during this bout! I saw her lay down several big hits which cleared the line for her jammer, sending the I5 blockers scattering over line while she skated on looking for her next target. She also slapped the star and stripe on her lid pulling triple duty. She definitely caught my attention as one to watch!

Liv R Die - Just like the previous night, this young lady was amazing! She didn't just open lanes, she was a highway wrecking crew sending multiple I5 blockers to the floor at least 3 times that I was able to count!

Mac Attack - What a jammer! She scored nearly half of her team's points, got lead jammer 50% of the jams she was in (most of which were against Lex Celerator) and had a +/- of 28 (meaning she scored 28 more points than her opponents on the jammer line). She definitely wins the stats line and a star for her jamming prowess!

Three stars for I5 Rollergirls -

Hunt-Her Down - Not only was she on the track more than anyone but Lex Celerator, she proved to be one of the strongest forces in the I5 pack, and even took several turns as Jammer putting up nine points. As I mentioned in her featured skater post, this woman is very much one to watch out for. Her 3.64 average blocker +/- (her team scored an average of 3.64 points per jam more than the opponents when she was blocking) and her over all avg +/- of 1.84 (tops for her team) give her this star!

Lex Celerator - 72 points, 79% lead jammer and amazing play in the pack when she wasn't pooring on the speed. Lex Celerator proved once again why she is considered one of the best. This skater is a superstar!

Death by Beth - Last year this skater was with SDB and I had the opportunity to see her play on numerous occasions. This past year I have watched her grow in skill by leaps and bounds! This past bout I saw her stopping jammers and playing defense like I had not seen before. She is definitely going to be one to watch out for next season!

This was one of the best bouts I have had the pleasure to watch and announce.  Those last 3 minutes were so intense!  I think I yelled myself hoarse over the microphone!  A huge thank you to Reed D Rules for getting me the stat sheets!  They really make things easier when I haven't had the chance to write things down due to my announcerly duties!