Atlanta started out the first jam edging to a 1-0 lead with Thunder Enlightenin moving quickly into the pack to get the first point of the bout, before cutting the jam off.  Mistilla the Killa countered with a 3-1 jam in the second jam for Houston, tying the game up 4-4. Houston then shut down a hard-hitting team from Atlanta the next three jams and took a 13-4 lead.

Death By Chocolate came up with an 11 point jam, while the Merchant of Menace took lead jammer status for Atlanta and scored eight points in the sixth jam.  Thunder Enlightenin took a 10-0 jam in the seventh jam, narrowing the lead for Houston to 24-22. The teams slugged it out for the next two jams with Houston gaining only two points and a 26-22 lead after the ninth jam.

Atlanta rallied back with a 4-0 jam by Thunder Enlightenin to tie the game up at 26-all in the tenth jam, and the Dirty South Derby Girls took a 31-26 lead on a 5-0 Demi Gore jam.  The squad from Georgia took its biggest lead of the night with a 4-0 jam by Merchant of Menace in the 13th jam (35-28).  DeMentia countered with a 12 point jam for Houston after the Atlanta jammer was sent to the penalty box.  That made the score 40-35 after 14 jams.

N Timid Ate Her followed up with a 5-0 jam in the 15th jam, but the team in blue would strike back with three lead jammer-statuses in a row narrowing the lead to 49-47 in favor of Houston.  Mistilla the Killa scored a seven point jam in the 19th jam, and Demi Gore would counter with 3 points in the final jam of the half to narrow Houston’s lead to 56-50.

Starting off the second half, Houston Roller Derby had a couple of blockers in the penalty box. The strategy was for Houston to execute a little jammer on jammer defense that was somewhat succesful as Atlanta scored a 3-0 opening jam by Merchant of Menace to narrow the HRD lead to 56-53.  Demi Gore threw a 2-0 jam at Houston, to close the score to a 56-55 margin in the second jam.

Mistilla the Killa countered back for Houston with an 8-3 jam to move the score out to 64-58 lead.  Houston then outscored Atlanta 18-1 in the next three jams including a 7-1 jam by Mistilla that put Houston up 82-58 after the seventh jam.  But Atlanta scored the big jam of the night as the Houston jammer was sent to the penalty box, along with two other blockers, and Demi Gore posted a 15-0 jam to narrow the lead back to 82-73.

The crucial run of the night took place in the next several jams. Death By Chocolate, normally known for her amazing side-to-side moves while jamming, entered a stretch of several jams as a blocker.  She attacked the Atlanta front wall effectively, and helped her jammers pick up some big points.  N Timid Ate Her scored Houston’s largest jam of the night in the ninth jam of the half with 14 points, and in the 11th jam DeMentia scored 10 more points, moving the HaRD Knocks lead to 106-81.

Just as the Houston fans thought the home team had established control of the bout, Atlanta chipped away with a couple of four point jams by Merchant of Menace and Thunder Enlightenin to narrow the lead to 19 points. DeMentia scored a 5-0 jam in the 15th jam, and Death By Chocolate added an 8-0 jam for the home team and the lead expanded to a 121-93 advantage.

Both teams slugged out scoreless jams for the next two jams with DeMentia being sent off the track in the 19th jam, and Thunder Enlightenin joining her in the box. In what was a change in the WFTDA 4.0 rules under which this bout was being played, it was thought that the second jammer would enter the penalty box and the first jammer would come right back out. But there are some exceptions to this rule, and that happened in one of the first interleague bouts played under the new rules.

Because the jam was whistled off before Thunder Enlightenin made it to the penalty box, DeMentia could not come out of the penalty box. So the final jam of the night started with 38 seconds left on the clock.  When the last blocker had cleared the pivot line after the jam was started, DeMentia then came out of the penalty box, and Thunder Enlightenin started officially serving her 43 second penalty.

DeMentia was called for a blocking from behind minor penalty that would guarantee when she broke out of the pack, she couldn’t cut the jam off with lead jammer status. While she would pick up some points in the final jam, a physical Atlanta blocking squad would nail her with several hard blocks. Thunder Enlighten picked up eight points to DeMentia’s six points. When the final whistle blew, the official score was posted on the board at 127-101 in favor of Houston.

Top scorers for Houston were DeMentia with 41 points, Mistilla with 33 points, Death By Chocolate with 28 points, and N Timid Ate Her with 25 points. Leading blockers for the home team included Nawty Dread Knocks, Miss Lead, Becky Booty, and Sinister Sista.

The leading scorers for the Dirty South Derby Girls included Thunder Enlighten with 42 points, Demi Gore with 32 points, and Merchant of Menace with 27 points. All individual scoring stats are unofficial. Top blockers for Atlanta included Queen Looseyateefa, Sk8 Outa Compton, Tanya Hyde, Switchblade Souisie, and Shannihilator.

The next action for Houston Roller Derby will be at Kicks Gym in Houston on May 16th, as the Psych Ward Sirens skate against the Bayou City Bosses, and the Burlesque Brawlers take on the Hotrod Honeys of the Texas Rollergirls. Atlanta will also be in action on May 16th as the Dirty South Derby Girls host the Dominion Rollergirls of Virginia Beach, Virginia and league teams the Sake Tuyas skate against the Apocalypstix at the Yaarab Shrine Center auditorium in Atlanta.

Phil Arnold,
Roller Derby Is Sport

Currently ranked third in the South Central Region of the WFTDA, the Hard Knocks will be skating against the fifth ranked squad from Atlanta.  Houston features jammers Mistilla the Killa, Death By Chocolate, DeMentia, and N Timid Ate Her.  Top blockers for Houston include Nawty Dread Knocks, Miss Lead, Becky Booty, and Carmen Geddit.

Top jammers for Atlanta include Thunder Enlightnin, JuJu, Alassin Sane, and The Merchant of Menace.  Featured blockers for the Dirty South Derby Girls consist of Queen Looseyateefa, Sk8 Outta Compton, Tanya Hyde, and Switchblade Siousie.

Action will take place at JOPA Sports, 17951 I-45 South in Shenandoah, Texas, just north of The Woodlands on the northbound I-45 frontage road.  Doors open at 6 p.m. with the bout scheduled to start at 7 o’clock.  Tickets are $10 for this bout.  They may be obtained online at Houston’s web site http://houstonrollerderby.com/ or at the door at JOPA Sports.

Rosters are subject to change because of illness or injury on bout day.

Atlanta: Alassin Sane, Amelia Scareheart, Demi Gore, Foxfire, Juju, Killy Wabbit, The Merchant of Menace, Queen Loseyateefa, Shannihator, Sk8 Outta Compton, Spazz Attaque, Switchblade Siousie, Tanya Hyde and Thunder Enlightnin.

Houston: Becky Booty, Carmen Geddit, DBC, DeMentia, Jekyll & Heidi, N Timid Ate Her, Miss Lead, Mistilla, Nawty Dread Knocks, Panty Raider, Rebel Ann, Sinister Sista, Starr Doom and Tex Offender.

Phil Arnold,
Roller Derby Is Sport

A desperate rally by the Dirty South Derby Girls fell short Saturday night as the Dallas Derby Devils defeated the Atlanta Rollergirls squad 115-108 in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Dallas opened up the first jam scoring a pack pass by jammer Roxie La Roo. Then despite not gaining lead jammer in the next jam, The Shocker would outscore the opposing Atlanta jammer 13-5, and DDD took a 17-5 lead. Hot For Teacher scored 12 points in the third jam as Dallas began a 32-15 run early in the bout; Dallas took a 49-20 lead at the end of the seventh jam.

The Dirty South Derby Girls would begin a mini-run of their own as they outscored Dallas 24-8 led by Thunder Enlightenin’s nine-point jam in the tenth jam of the first half, along with another nine-point jam by JuJu in the 14th jam. The score was narrowed to 58-45. But DDD would come back with the last 12 points of the final three jams and Dallas took a 73-49 lead into the half.

Dallas opened up the second half on a seven-point jam by Roxie LaRoo, and proceed to outscore Atlanta 19-4 in the opening four jams of the second period. This gave Dallas a 39-point lead. But The Dirty South Derby Girls began a furious rally the next jam with 11 points scored by jammer Thunder Enlightenin’. The Merchant of Menace followed up with an eight-point jam and Atlanta narrowed the lead to 96-72.

Dallas and the team from Georgia continued trading jam point advantages, and then the Derby Devils started getting into penalty trouble. The Dirty South Derby Girls initially took control of the front blocking pack early in the last jams, and then isolated DDD skaters at the back of the pack, slowing down the blocking pack. Juju scored ten points in the thirteenth jam of the half, and Alassin Sane finished off a 55-23 rally by Atlanta narrowing the game to a seven-point lead by Dallas. The clock ran out before the 15th jam could start and somehow the Dallas Derby Devils had survived the rally that featured the team from Georgia putting the bout in doubt even though Atlanta never had a lead.

Top scorers for the Dallas Derby Devils were Hot For Teacher with 36 points, Roxie La Roo with 29 points, and Ingersoll Rand with 22 points. Top blockers for Dallas included Scary Cherry Bang Bang, Rink Panther, The Shocker, and Keltic Kamikaze.

Top scorers for the Dirty South Derby Girls included Thunder Enlightenin’ with 27 points, JuJu with 23 points, Alassin’ Sane with 21 points, and the Merchant of Menace with 12 points. Leading blockers for the Atlanta Rollergirls were Queen Loseyateefa, Sk8 Outa Compton, and Tanya Hyde.

(All individual scoring is unofficial.)

Phil Arnold,
Roller Derby Is Sport