2017 D1 Playoffs Seattle Game 10: Charlottesville vs. Jacksonville
Charlottesville Derby Dames (#12) vs. Jacksonville Roller Derby (#3)
In the second game of the consolation bracket at the 2017 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Seattle, D1 neophytes the Charlottesville Derby Dames of Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. (Seed #12, WFTDA #39) made it clear they came to play, and that Jacksonville Roller Derby of Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. (Seed #3, WFTDA #9) had to find a way to respond. The seasoned New Jax Rollers did, and came away with the 318-161 victory.
The first half played out the way the first jam did, with both teams exchanging control of the action on the track and the movement of the pack. Jacksonville’s formidable defense was compromised by a series of jammer penalties, and though Jacksonville jammers Snot Rocket Science and Leanne Grohl’s skill and experience put Jacksonville ahead after ten minutes of gameplay, Boom! Shake the Room managed to shift the score to a two point lead for Charlottesville. The next few jams had nearly as many lead changes as laps around the track.
Utilizing well-timed star passes and offensive maneuvers, Charlottesville’s hybrid blocker-jammers like River Styx Phoenix and Mia Machete were able to minimize some of the damage from Jacksonville’s jammers, but at 20 minutes into the half, the game started to shift and Jacksonville’s experienced bench started to show their depth. Their stable and effective formations let them build upon a lead they would keep for the rest of the game.
With less than two minutes left in the first half, Stonewallup toed the line for Charlottesville and Leanne Grohl took the star for Jacksonville. Grohl quickly earned lead, and Stonewallup passed the star to pivot Mia Machete after Grohl’s scoring pass. Grohl called the jam and her team called a timeout, forcing one last jam in the half, ending it at 144-86 in favor of Jacksonville.
The second half began with strong defense, jammers fighting to earn lead but Jacksonville sent offensive blockers like Stefanie Gents to break up Charlottesville’s walls, who would decentralize Charlottesville’s defense and allowed Jacksonville jammers to rack up points. Five minutes into the first half, Jacksonville’s Snot Rocket Science achieved a 29-point power jam, separating the teams by 101 points.
Charlottesville called a team timeout, and upon returning to gameplay, immediately passed the jammer star, negating their ability to earn lead jammer status. As pivot-turned-jammer Machete took her initial lap, opposing jammer Snot was sent to the box for a track cutting penalty. Machete made a quick slice through the Jacksonville pack on her first scoring pass, but on the second pass incurred her own track cutting penalty. After another jammer rotation through the box for both teams, Charlottesville’s coordinated offense earned Machete a partial scoring pass, ending the revolving-door jam with 3 points for Charlottesville and 12 for Jacksonville.
With seven minutes left on the clock and Jacksonville ahead 276-125, on a streak of ten lead jammer status calls in their favor, they continued building on their differential until Charlottesville’s Stonewallup busted through Jacksonville’s wall with Grohl hot on her tail. Stonewallup kept the jam going with both jammers working to get through the pack, netting an extra four points for Charlottesville by the end of the jam. Jacksonville continued to earn lead jammer status almost throughout the rest of the game.
As this was the last game of the tournament for both teams, each took advantage of remaining timeouts to eke out every last second of track time. Sharing this time management strategy allowed all skaters as much active play time as possible. The final jam ended up landing in Charlottesville’s favor, but the game concluded in a solid win for Jacksonville.
FINAL SCORE
Jacksonville Roller Derby (Seed #3, WFTDA #9) 318
Charlottesville Derby Dames (Seed #12, WFTDA #39) 161
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