RECAP BY BAD ASTRAL
Bad Astral has been reporting on roller derby in Northern California and beyond since 2009.
The Bay Area Derby season opener pitted the San Francisco ShEvil Dead against the Oakland Outlaws in an early evening bout. It was a warm and sunny day in Oakland at BAD’s new venue, The Station. The track was drawn with concrete and tape, just like in the derby days of yore, and the skaters wore sunglasses in addition to their protective gear. The bout started 10 minutes late so the sold-out crowd had time to be admitted.
First to the jammer line for ShEvil was #68 Danymite against #333 Dreadzilla for the Outlaws. The first jam was a cut and dry quick pass and score, 4-0, ShEvil.
With 26 minutes remaining in the first half, #31 Frightmare for ShEvil, was first through the pack with a no pass, no penalty and was not awarded lead. This gave opportunity for #99 Pizza Party of Oakland to get lead and immediately call off the jam at 0-0.
Throughout the next six jams, ShEvil and their triangle defense got lead jam every single time and held Oakland scoreless until about 22 minutes left in the first half. Finally, #313 Smother Mary of the Outlaws snuck in a quick 4 points before Frightmare called off the jam: 24-4, ShEvil Dead.
With a new ruleset in place, the first few bouts of the season are always a little tricky for the referees and skaters alike. Numerous “legal” cuts occurred, with a delay in penalty and/or a delay in player yield. At one point, #246 Sinnabar cut the track, waited to make eye contact with the ref, then took a step off the track and went to the back of the pack to try her pass again. The latest ruleset says a cut penalty may be avoided if advantage is immediately yielded.
In the next jam, Dreadzilla of the Outlaws made a high and tight toe stop pass on the outside line to get lead. ShEvil jammer, #212 Xpress Lane Jane, removed her helmet cover and passed it to the pivot, who was immediately assessed a low block penalty. Score 25-12, ShEvil.
The second half of the first quarter began with a new heat as the skaters adjusted to the concrete and sunshine. Oakland’s Pizza Party got out of the pack first but was immediately sent to the penalty box. This gave Frightmare the opportunity to pass the star to #89 Mean Burrito, adding two grand slams (10 points) to ShEvil’s total score. Meanwhile, #410 Ames to Maim of Oakland was assessed a direction of game play penalty, and sunglasses were seen flying to the inside and the outside of the track. Score 46-19, ShEvil.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the bout had officially sold out. By now the teams were trading off lead jammer every other jam, with Danymite of ShEvil and Pizza Party of Oakland having the most success. Score at the half: 89-51, ShEvil Dead.
The ShEvil Dead returned to the track for the second half in force and continued to dominate the lead jammer ratio. On a particularly impressive pass, Frightmare turned backwards and passed on the inside of the apex for lead jammer and a grand slam aided by fierce ShEvil blocking from Mean Burrito and #404 Permab&.
With 24 minutes remaining in the game, Oakland’s jammer Dreadzilla earned lead jammer but committed a back block penalty on her scoring pass, leaving Frightmare to contend with Oakland’s brutal blockers for a full two minute jam. After scoring 15 points of her own and with Dreadzilla back on the track, Frightmare played a bit of defense to knock out and drew a cut track penalty on the Oakland jammer. ShEvil kept hold of the lead: 111-64.
A staple of roller derby is the intense vigor and passion of the final 15 minutes of game play. ShEvil jammer Xpress Lane Jane spent almost an entire minute being pummeled by an unrelenting #7 Murderyn Monroe, #45 Lethally Blonde, and #64 Mary Prankster three-wall which allowed Oakland jammer #85 Butt’N MashHer to score a grand slam, but it did little to close the score gap. Oakland wasn’t about to go quietly into the night, and, maximizing a power jam opportunity by fielding #10 Huck Sinn (aka Tiger Beat) as jammer, the mighty Outlaws were able to put up 22 points bringing them within 30 points of ShEvil: 101-127, ShEvil
With 5 minutes remaining ShEvil jammer Danymite (recent addition to the BAD travel team) made an uncontested pass on the outside for lead, and slid through a second time, like butter, for one, then two grand slams. On her third scoring pass, Murderyn Monroe delivered a devastating chest hit, which stunned Danymite long enough to let Sinnabar sneak in two points. Score 179-114, ShEvil.
With only minutes remaining, the skaters on the track were visibly fatigued but in no way disheartened. First, Pizza Party did a face plant, then Frightmare. Pizza Party recovered to get lead jammer only for Sweet Sherry Pie to take the ShEvil star pass from and chase her down for a scoreless jam. Danymite once again snatched lead jammer for the final jam, playing it conservatively, she added a few more points to ShEvil’s score then called the jam off to end the game.
FINAL SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO SHEVIL DEAD:186
OAKLAND OUTLAWS: 114
Time will tell if these two teams play each other again this season. Oakland Outlaws next face the Berkeley Resistance on 5/13, while San Francisco ShEvil Dead takes on the Richmond Wrecking Belles on 6/3. Both games will be held at The Station and are part of our discounted BAD Deal which includes the doubleheader Championship at the Craneway Pavilion on 8/19.