Friday the 13th

Ah, the first night of Hometown Throwdown. Now, I am not a superstitious man by any means, but it does give me a reason to pause for thought when a bout takes place on infamous Friday the 13th. But there are few things in this world that I enjoy more than weekend full of roller derby, especially when it involves a bunch of top-ranked teams and it takes place right here in Portland!

The first bout of the evening featured Bay Area vs. Gotham. This was a fast paced game that saw quite a few more penalties from Bay Area than from Gotham. Gotham pulled away early in jam #9 when Suzy Hotrod gave Gotham a nine point lead. The lead kept growing, and Bay Area never recovered after that. Suzy Hotrod definitely deserves MVP for her jamming performance. At halftime Gotham was leading 63 to 46. The second half saw more great performances from Suzy Hotrod and Bonnie Thunders, and by jam #21 Gotham had a 53 point lead. Bay Area’s Astronaughty put in a great effort at jamming, and she staged a minor comeback late in the game, but in the end it didn’t do much to save them from a 189 to 58 point loss at the hands of Gotham.

The second bout of the evening featured our Wheels of Justice versus Rat City. I went to the hangar last night quite complacent and fully expecting an easy Wheels victory. I was not prepared to see Rat City play so well. As early as jam #12 it was clear that I had a reason to be concerned. Primp Daddy had a nine point jam to give Rat City a 41 to 33 point lead over the Wheels. The following jam saw Ann R. Kissed pull out another nine points for Rat, and the lead kept growing from there. Rat City wasn’t only on top of their jamming game, they showed some stellar defense also. At halftime, they stood with a 77 to 34 point lead over our Wheels of Justice.

The second half saw that point gap grow even further. Rhea DeRange, Soulfearic Acid, and Scratcher in the Eye (who broke a plate on one of her skates!...Friday the 13th again?), put in valiant jamming efforts, but in the end Rat City’s defense combined with our penalty box time prevented any serious comeback by the Wheels. The last three jams of the night saw the Wheels gain more points than any other stretch of the bout, but it was too little too late, and Rat City stood with a 155 to 111 point victory when the final whistle blew. I can’t help but think that if the bout lasted another ten minutes or so, that we could have pulled out a victory. It seemed like we were really starting to make some headway, but the clock was against us at that point.

Tonight on the lineup we have Bay Area vs. Rat City, and Gotham vs. our Wheels of Justice. The doors open at 5:00 PM, but unfortunately I won’t be able to be there due to a prior engagement. So I’m a hopin’ and a prayin’ that JeLLyPiG will give us a Saturday and Sunday bout recap and tell me what I missed!