February 26 – Johnson City, TN
RTR (133) vs Little City Rollers (95)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Rocktown Rollers flat track women’s roller derby team opened its third season of play on the road and came away with a 133-95 victory over the host Little City Roller Girls, Feb. 26. The match-up, titled “All’s Fair in Love and Derby” was the first-ever bout [for the Rocktown Rollers] between two Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Leagues.
In front of a large and rowdy road crowd, the opening half was a back-and-forth battle as the two teams worked to figure out each other’s strategy as well as get the nerves out of the season opener. Rocktown (RTR) couldn’t find the scoreboard in the first two jams as Little City (LCRG) edged out to an early 6-0 lead. RTR came back and battled with the hosts over the next six jams before taking its first lead of the bout in Jam 8, going ahead 16-12 on a five-point jam. However, LCRG outscored the Rollers over the next four jams to re-take the lead 36-29 with 10 minutes to go in the first half. From there, the visiting Rocktown team asserted itself, holding its hosts to just seven points the remainder of the period in taking a slim 46-43 lead into halftime.
After the break, LCRG scored two points on the first jam to make it a slim 46-45 lead for Rocktown, but the squad from the Shenandoah Valley would never relinquish the lead. The Rollers took over the bout from that point, going on a 56-11 run over the next nine jams, including holding Little City scoreless in five of those, to build a commanding 102-65 lead after 10 jams with about nine minutes to play. The margin extended to 56 at 115-59 in Jam 31 before LCRG scored 36 points on the final four jams, as compared to Rocktown’s 18, for the final 133-95 margin.
“We have been working diligently on executing strategy and truly working as a pack,” Coach Bam-Bam Brawler said. “Tonight was a tremendous collective effort that saw us hit our stride in the second half. The win was a culmination of a tireless off-season training, a commitment to one another as teammates and the adrenaline powered by a tremendous Johnson City crowd. I am proud of the way we performed and look for this to be a building block as we get ready to take on a tough Poe’s Punishers’ squad in our home opener in a month.”
Three MVP awards were handed out by Little City for each team in the bout, with Betty CrasHer, Killnitzki and Revenga d’Nerd taking home Rocktown’s awards. The bout also saw the debut of three new members of the Rocktown squad, as Revenga, Rosie the Retaliator and Mia Feral all saw their first action as a Roller.
As the women’s flat track derby league of the Shenandoah Valley, the Rocktown Rollers will return home for the 2011 home opener on Sunday, March 27 at 4 p.m., hosting the River City Rollergirls’ Poe’s Punishers from Richmond, with the bout dubbed “Et Tu, Brutal”. The bout will be contested at Funky’s Skate Center in Harrisonburg, and it is a family-friendly event.
-John A. Martin
In front of a large and rowdy road crowd, the opening half was a back-and-forth battle as the two teams worked to figure out each other’s strategy as well as get the nerves out of the season opener. Rocktown (RTR) couldn’t find the scoreboard in the first two jams as Little City (LCRG) edged out to an early 6-0 lead. RTR came back and battled with the hosts over the next six jams before taking its first lead of the bout in Jam 8, going ahead 16-12 on a five-point jam. However, LCRG outscored the Rollers over the next four jams to re-take the lead 36-29 with 10 minutes to go in the first half. From there, the visiting Rocktown team asserted itself, holding its hosts to just seven points the remainder of the period in taking a slim 46-43 lead into halftime.
After the break, LCRG scored two points on the first jam to make it a slim 46-45 lead for Rocktown, but the squad from the Shenandoah Valley would never relinquish the lead. The Rollers took over the bout from that point, going on a 56-11 run over the next nine jams, including holding Little City scoreless in five of those, to build a commanding 102-65 lead after 10 jams with about nine minutes to play. The margin extended to 56 at 115-59 in Jam 31 before LCRG scored 36 points on the final four jams, as compared to Rocktown’s 18, for the final 133-95 margin.
“We have been working diligently on executing strategy and truly working as a pack,” Coach Bam-Bam Brawler said. “Tonight was a tremendous collective effort that saw us hit our stride in the second half. The win was a culmination of a tireless off-season training, a commitment to one another as teammates and the adrenaline powered by a tremendous Johnson City crowd. I am proud of the way we performed and look for this to be a building block as we get ready to take on a tough Poe’s Punishers’ squad in our home opener in a month.”
Three MVP awards were handed out by Little City for each team in the bout, with Betty CrasHer, Killnitzki and Revenga d’Nerd taking home Rocktown’s awards. The bout also saw the debut of three new members of the Rocktown squad, as Revenga, Rosie the Retaliator and Mia Feral all saw their first action as a Roller.
As the women’s flat track derby league of the Shenandoah Valley, the Rocktown Rollers will return home for the 2011 home opener on Sunday, March 27 at 4 p.m., hosting the River City Rollergirls’ Poe’s Punishers from Richmond, with the bout dubbed “Et Tu, Brutal”. The bout will be contested at Funky’s Skate Center in Harrisonburg, and it is a family-friendly event.
-John A. Martin