The 2020 Bay Area Derby season got off to a bang on February 16th, with an exciting bout overlooking the San Francisco waterfront in the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion. With the bleachers full of fans enjoying food trucks eats and a few cold brews, the San Francisco ShEvil Dead lined up against last year’s undefeated champions, the Oakland Outlaws.
The Outlaws sprinted to a lead in the first half, with veterans Esteemed Bun Bun, Grim Reeba and Spiller alternating jams with Luna Shovegood, along with two new draftees, Maeve of Mutilation and Rolling Thunder. The ShEvil squad countered with jams led by The Freak, Stomping Hound, and Demoraliza along with multiposition powerhouse Neuralize HER and a fresh face, new jammer Atomic Bombshell. The bout rolled into half time a close game, the Outlaws leading ShEvil 102 to 90.
By jam 19 in the second half, Oakland was still holding onto the lead, but they had two blockers in the penalty box at the end of jam. With only three Outlaws on the track, ShEvil put Neuralize HER in wearing the star. With Kitty Killa heading up a strong offense, Neuralize HER was able to take control and bring ShEvil into the lead with 172 points to Oakland’s 167.
With a minute left in the game, Spiller came in to jam for Oakland, facing off against Demoralizer on the ShEvil line, and fought back to tie the game at 176-176. With only one second left on the clock, the Outlaws called a timeout, squeezing in just one more two-minute jam that would decide the thrilling bout. Grim Reeba wore the star for Oakland, while Neuralize HER toed up for the SF squad. Neuralize HER broke out of the pack to take lead jammer, while Grim Reeba was forced to visit to the penalty box. Neuralize HER took full advantage of the power jam to push ShEvil into the lead with 180 points. With only fifty seconds left on the jam clock and in the entire game, Grim Reeba sprinted out of the box and lapped the field to put points on the board, while Neuralize HER fought her way to more earned passes in the final seconds. When the dust cleared, the San Francisco ShEvil Dead had 187 points against the Oakland Outlaws’ 184, toppling the 2019 Bay Area Derby home team champ.
Fresh off their victory, ShEvil will return to the arena on March 7, taking on the Berkeley Resistance. Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bad-home-bout-2-tickets-88168794237 to buy tickets today, and see bayareaderby.com for more details, including information about pre-bout junior roller derby training clinics!
2020 Bay Area Derby Home Team Records:
San Francisco ShEvil Dead: 1 – 0
Oakland Outlaws: 0 – 1
Berkeley Resistance: first game on March 7