Excitment Featured in Both Bouts in Houston
The Machete Betties held off the Psych Ward Sirens 77-76, despite a furious rally, Sunday night to pick up their first win of the 2008 Houston Roller Derby (HRD) Season. In the first bout of the night, the home team Burlesque Brawlers defeated the Assassination City Roller Derby’s Bombshell Brigade 123-100 to start off the memorable evening of roller derby at Verizon Wireless Theater.
The Betties and Sirens opened up the game by scoring seven points each in the first jam. But after another seven point jam by Chain Saw Chick, and a three point jam by Miss Lead, the Machete Betties took a 17-7 lead at the end of the fourth jam. 2007 MVP Mistilla the Killa came back with a 10 points in the fifth jam to tie it up. The game was still tied at the beginning of the ninth jam when Miss Lead scored ten more points to Carmen Geddit’s four points, and the team in Camouflage took a 35-29 lead. A five point jam by Scarlet O’Hurtya and a four point jam by Chainsaw Chick moved the halftime lead out to 44-29 in favor of the Machete Betties.
After a huge first jam of the second half by Betties all star The Prosecutor, when she scored 12 points while the Sirens were shutout, the Psych Ward Sirens began their astounding comeback to make up the 27 point difference. Mistilla the Killa, who was nursing a sore knee suffered in the Roll For a Cure tournament in May, only skated twice in the first half and scored 17 of her team’s 29 points. She jammed six times in the second half and picked up 34 more points. The Sirens’ blockers stepped up with some really tough defense and the team only allowed ten points in the next seven jams while picking up 31 points: the lead was down to 66-60.
In the next jam there was a scoring controversy. Originally Scarlet O’Hurtya was given eight points to Mistilla’s six points, when Mistilla was lead jammer. However after a long discussion between the refs, both captains, and the scorekeepers the Machete Betties points were reduced to three points for the jam. The Sirens had officially closed the gap to 69-66. In the next jam Miss Lead put pressure on Siren lead jammer Panty Raider, who cut the jam off with neither team scoring any points.
The game came down to the last two jams, with a little more than two minutes left in the game. In the 11th jam, Mistilla broke out for lead jammer, followed closely by The Prosecutor. Mistilla hit into the pack first followed by The Prosecutor. Mistilla ended the jam, with each jammer being awarded five points. With roughly 50 seconds left in the game Mistilla, jamming again on the final jam, broke out of the pack again with lead jammer status, closely followed by Miss Lead. She stayed within five feet of Mistilla who again made it through the pack. When the clock ran out she had put up five more points. But Miss Lead was officially given three points, and the official score was the final 77-76 on the scoreboard. The celebration began in earnest for the Machete Betties; they had picked up their first win of the season, and against the defending HRD champion Psych Ward Sirens.
Top scorers for the Machete Betties included The Prosecutor with 24 points, Miss Lead with 21 points, and rookie Chainsaw Chic with 14 points, with rookie Scarlet O’Hurtya chipping in 10 crucial points. Top blockers for the Betties included Major Mayhem, Becky Booty, and BushWackher.
The leading scorer for the Psych Ward Sirens was the amazing Mistilla who put up 51 points of the defending champs’ 76 points. Panty Raider added 16 points, and Carmen Geddit chipped in with eight points. All individual scoring is unofficial. Top blockers for the Sirens included Mary Choppins, Crasher and Tex Offender.
In the first bout of the evening, the Burlesque Brawlers started off skating a couple of All Stars short. Sinister Sista suffered a broken upper ankle about a week before the bout, and one of the league’s top jammers Audiomind suffered a knee injury the Friday before the Sunday bout. This was a very competitive game against the top team from Assassination City Roller Derby.
The first jam opened with the Bombshell Brigade’s Harassiz Mine moving out to two pack passes and outscoring Savage Rose 8-7 even though the Burlesque Brawler captain had gained lead jammer status. Mona Bruis’r followed up with a nine-point jam, and the team from Dallas had a 17-13 lead.
However, Savage Rose countered with a nine point jam in the fourth jam of the game, after the officials signaled a split pack, and let her pass the remaining three Brigade’s blockers to gain a 22-19 lead for the home team. Savage Rose then scoreed eight points in the sixth jam, followed by a nine point jam in the 8th jam as the Brawlers widened their lead to 44-35. The team in red chiped away at the lead and by halftime the Burlesque Brawlers were up 58-53 in a game that could go either way.
A seven point jam by Harassiz Mine open up the second period and the game was narrowed down to a 62-60 margin. But Catazon countered with a nine point jam, and Savage Rose followed up with a nine point jam in the forth jam of the second half, and the team in purple took an 83-64 advantage. With Harrasiz Mine jamming against Catazon, the most controversial jam of the bout unfolded.
Harrasiz Mine scored nine points in the jam while Catazon earned four, but during the jam in turn four, Catazon literally pulled Bombshell Brigade Captain Vanna Rockin’ down to the floor, initiating a fight. Both skaters were ejected, and the controversy was just starting. Catazon clearly pulled the blocker Vanna Rocker down from behind. While both may have been ejected for fighting, clearly Catazon was a jammer and Vanna Rockin was a blocker.
No jammer was made to serve Catazon’s ejection penalty. In fact, Savage Rose was on the track for the beginning of the next jam and she scored four points, while Harrasiz Mine scored another four points for the team from Dallas. The break for the fight was lengthy, and as might be imagined, the debate from both teams with the officials was heated. For some in the audience it appeared that Catazon could have had a substitute jammer not only serving a major penalty for pulling down Vanna Rockin’, but possibly another major for fighting. That would have been a two-minute penalty for the home team with a jammer in the penalty box. But again, a jammer was out on the track for the Burlesque Brawlers the next jam, and the Bombshell Brigade captain (the second leading team scorer during the season) was kicked out of the game, and away from her bench so she could not be involved in strategic decisions.
For the Burlesque Brawlers replacing Catazon, their second leading scorer, was not an easy situation. They still held a 14-point lead, but some of the squad from Houston was needed to cover for Catazon’s absence. Miss Treatment scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half after the ejection, helping maintain the Brawler lead. Savage Rose continued to skate an amazing game for the Brawlers. The Brawlers outscored the Brigade 21-8 in the middle three jams of the final half, and the lead was extended to 112-85. The Bombshell Brigade only cut into the lead a little, and for some reason their leading scorer did not jam in any of the last six jams of the half.
There is not much doubt who was the star of the game was for the Burlesque Brawlers. Savage Rose scored 77 points (unofficially) and jammed every other jam after Catazon was ejected. Catazon was the second leading scorer (28) for the home team. Miss Treatment added a crucial 18 points for the Burlesque Brawlers to round out the scoring. Top blockers for the Burlesque Brawlers included Brat Poison, Raven Knockahoe, and Starr Doom.
The top scorer for the Bombshell Brigade from Assassination City was Harrasiz Mine with 48 points. Rookie Mona Bruis’r followed up with 21 points for the team in red. Brandy Danger, skating in only her 2nd bout ever, chipped in 12 points for the team from Dallas. Top blockers, besides Harrasiz Mine and Mona Bruis’r, included Claire Voyant, Rehabigail and Mary Ate Ashley.
The next action for Assassination City will be on June 21st at home in Mesquite, Texas with a derby double-header. The next action for the Houston Roller Derby, after they get home from competing at East Coast Extravaganza in Philadelphia, will be against the Angel City Derby Girls on June 28th. For more information on either of these bouts visit Assassination City’s web site at www.acderby.com/cms or Houston’s web site at www.houstonrollerderby.com.
Phil Arnold,
Austin, Texas
