On Saturday, May 28th, fierce Bleeding Heartland rivals, the Ft. Wayne Derby Girls, descended upon Bloomington, looking to exact some Spring Roll revenge. In an exciting double-header, the Fort Wayne B-Team, S.W.A.T., took on the Code Blue Assassins, followed by the much-awaited re-match between the Flatliners and The Bomb Squad, Ft. Wayne’s A-Team.
CODE BLUE ASSASSINS vs. S.W.A.T.
The first half of the game began in Ft. Wayne’s favor, when in the 4th jam, CBA jammer Felanie Charges broke through the pack first, but lost lead jammer due to a minor track cut. Felanie was then sent to the penalty box for a major track cut, which allowed Bobbie McBleed to score 20 points for Ft. Wayne in a power jam. A few jams later, the CBAs seized their own power jam opportunity when Hangin’ Judge was sent to the penalty box and Bobbi McGuillotine quickly racked up 15 points for BHRG, bringing the score to within 5 points. A smooth 4 points from CBA Felanie charges in the next jam brought the score to 36-35 S.W.A.T. with about 15 minutes remaining in the half. Both teams worked the defense well. The CBA defensive line, which consisted of Thigh Candy, Spools of Dread and Megabyte, was dubbed “the triangle of death at the front of the pack” by announcer Dick Smack. Jammers from both teams were able to eke out a few points here and there for the rest of the half. Despite a rough start and point deficits of 20 points several times in the half, the CBAs were able to keep the game tight. HALF-TIME SCORE: 51-49 BHRG
In the second half, the CBAs were effectively holding on to the lead by refusing S.W.A.T. jammers points and slowly adding points to the board for BHRG, when, in an unfortunate turn of events, Bobbi McGuillotine was sent to the box in the 9th jam, giving up 15 points to Hangin’ Judge, which resulted in a lead change in Ft. Wayne’s favor. In the very next jam, Felanie Charges was sent to the box and Ft. Wayne got another power jam, wherein The Adkins Riot tore around the track and put up 13 more points. Felanie Charges and Bobbi McGuillotine immediately came back, each with a 10-point jam, bringing the score to a tie of 85-85 with 10:30 left in the game. CBAs pulled ahead, then S.W.A.T. tied it up again with a score of 94-94 and only 6 minutes of play remaining. S.W.A.T then claimed lead jammer status for the next two jams and scored 24 more points, leaving one last jam to skate. In the final jam, The Adkins Riot captured lead jammer status after the Ft. Wayne pack unleashed some nasty hits on Bobbi McGuillotine. Riot cleverly ran down the clock until the game was called in a narrow loss for the Code Blue Assassins. FINAL SCORE: 118-94 FWDG
High scoring jammer for S.W.A.T was Hangin’ Judge with a total of 46 points.
High scoring jammer for Code Blue Assassins was Bobbi McGuillotine with 54 total points scored.
FLATLINERS vs. BOMB SQUAD
Next in the lineup, the Flatliners took on the Bomb Squad. In a huge Spring Roll upset just two weeks earlier, the Flatliners came back from a 41-point deficit with 9 minutes left in the game and clinched a narrow 5-point win over the Bomb Squad in their own arena.
The first half of the game was an absolute nail biter and included three tie scores and two lead changes. The first tie of the game occurred in the 2nd jam, with both teams at 5 points. The pack was rough on both sides, giving the jammers a hard time and resulting in a very low scoring first half. Still, the Flatliners were able to pull ahead and lead by 18 points for most of the half. This was largely thanks to the strategic game play in the Flatliners pack, as there were many jams where the pivot ran the clock down before crossing the line to release the jammers. And the spectacular defensive skill of Shock ‘n Roll and Zero Dark can’t go unmentioned. A couple major penalties called on Kaka Caliente gave the Bomb Squad some power jam opportunities. But, due to the Flatliners incredible blocking, the Bomb Squad was not allowed to run the scoreboard up. Still, the Bomb Squad was able to bring the score to a tie of 27-27 with 8 minutes left in the half. Bomb Squad took the lead in the next jam and held the Flatliners jammers back for the next three jams. But then, due to defensive duo Thigh Candy and Shock ‘n Roll, Terror D’Bits clinched lead jammer and scored eight points, giving the Flatliners the lead again. Both jammers scored points at the end of the half, though, ending the first half in an exciting tie game! HALF-TIME SCORE: 37-37
The Flatliners blazed back onto the track for the second half with a turbo charged defense, which gave Flatliner jammers a chance to immediately tack 16 point on the board in the first 4 jams. The Bomb Squad answered with a 10-point jam, bringing the score to 53-47 with 22 minutes remaining. Both squads’ incredible blocking was clearly displayed in the 7th jam, where there was no lead jammer called (due to minor penalties in the first pass for both jammers) and a full two minutes elapsed with no points scored for either team. The scenario repeated itself in the 14th jam, where an entire two minutes passed with zero points for each team. This game was perhaps one of the tightest matches in defense that the Flatliners have played this season and was, by far, the most impressive defensive play by the Flatliners thus far. While the Bomb Squad fought tooth and nail for every additional point, it just wasn’t enough to turn the tides. The Flatliners skated away with the W once again. FINAL SCORE: 79-64 BHRG
High scoring jammer for the Bomb Squad was R.I.P. Tide with 34 total points.
High scoring jammer for the Flatliners was Terror D’Bits with 37 total points.
~Broken HypeWriter
Bowl for Kids Sake
