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March 12th had a lot of "news": new name, new rink, new season, new uniforms, new teams. Even our friend Mayor Josh Maxwell was on hand to ring in BRD's 2016 season against Ithaca's League of Women Rollers. It was a beautiful spring evening and the house was PACKED.

Game One: Brawlers/Blue Stockings

The Brawlers stepped on the track against Ithaca's Blue Stockings and owned the game from the first whistle. The jammer rotation of Bomb Schell, Squirrelly Quinn, Drop, Pop N Lock and Fear N. Loathin' couldn't be contained. While the defensive lines lead by Ratkowski and Chikki Sixx were 4 woman wrecking crews.

This recap is going to look much the same, unwavering patience by Schell, under the radar Squirrel, power jamming by Poppy and fancy footwork by Fear Lo was successful getting the jammers lead, jam after jam. While the jammers were doing their jobs Rat, Chikki and their crews were clearing holes big enough for tractor trailers while simultaneously holding the opposing jammers. Optimist prime chased opposing jammers out of the pack and recycled them to the back, DonT beA Baby owned the lines, Valley Hurl compressed walls all the way across the track, B.B. Sting had unpassable "ass"ets, mErica's stops and footwork held the jammers to a crawl and this was all just the first half. BRD was up at half time 132-71.

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Second verse (or half as you will) same as the first. Rat knew one line all game - thou shall not pass. While Prime and Chikki just traded positions recycling the jammers. The jammers maintained their wily tricks from the first half with Schell flashing a smile with each lead status nailed down, ninja Squirrel, Poppy driving through the opposing walls like a Mack truck and fleet footwork by Fear Lo. It didn't matter who was blocking, they were either parting the Red Sea for their own jammers or taking out the opposing jammers like wrecking balls. The final score was BRD with a whopping 271 to 125.

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MVP Blocker BRD: Ratkowski

MVP Jammer BRD: Bomb Schell

MVP Blocker Ithaca: Fire Punk

MVP Jammer Ithaca: Jagger

Game Two: Belligerents/SufferJets

The second bout of the night saw our Belligerents take on Ithaca’s SufferJets. The Belligerents went into this game with something to prove, having suffered losses on our home turf the last two times the SufferJets visited. Right off the first whistle, Buenos D. Ass made it clear that BRD meant business, taking lead jammer status over Ithaca’s Haha Hatchet and putting up a quick 3 points. In the next two jams, Raggedy Aneurysm scored 4 more and Lurz Lemon picked up 4 of her own – happy birthday to Lurz! (Literally, it was her birthday!)

With the score at 11-0, the Belligerents saw their first two penalties. The SufferJets started finding their stride, forcing Buenos to call off a jam without scoring. Then Ithaca’s Nora Morse claimed lead status over Rags and put their first 4 points on the board. Rapid ArrhythMia and Crash Bansheekoot executed stunning defensive teamwork to hold Ithaca’s jammer Rainbow Might, forcing her to pass the star to her pivot Manda Tori Chaos – who in turn was able to score, but not before Lurz racked up several passes, taking the score to 23-8.

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The teams traded penalties. Strategies adapted. Jammers on either side came up against strong braced walls and ever-shifting defenses. But just as things were ramping up, little did we know we were about to have the kind of time-out no one ever wants to see. Haha Hatchet took lead against Buenos and was firmly in her element. However, after jumping the apex, an unfortunate landing resulted in a leg injury and left her on the floor. The referees promptly called off the jam, and what had been an atmosphere of fierce competition shifted readily to one of solidarity and shared sisterhood. The Belligerents formed a circle of privacy around Hatchet while Ithaca’s Dusa Damage and Rollin’ Polanski, as well as referee Attitude & Point, assisted EMT Crystal. When the ambulance arrived, Hatchet was wheeled out with a sendoff of applause from all present and a chant of “Haha Hatchet!” from her teammates.

After the 20 minute injury timeout, the skaters took a few minutes to do some laps, get warmed-up again, and shake off the tension. The period resumed with the score at 26-12. Ithaca jammers took lead twice and threw some much needed points on the board, closing the gap to 29-22. With Hatchet out, Jagger stepped into the SufferJets’ jammer rotation. She went up against Buenos, but had yet to adapt to BRD’s defense. That wouldn’t last long, and BRD took advantage while they could. With some offensive assistance from Mia and Ballerinka Barbie, the Belligerents widened the gap to 47-22.

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Momentum began to shift. Brandywine jammers were sent off for penalties in two consecutive jams, just as the SufferJets were picking up steam. Belligerent blockers remained steadfast – Crash slowed down Nora, and ThumpHer worked with Barbie and Cutthroat KC to give Rainbow Might hell. But the SufferJets were determined to make the most of these power jams, and the Ithaca score steadily climbed. 47-26… 47-31… 57-41…

The SufferJets fought tooth and nail for every point, and now Brandywine found themselves at the start of a jam with two blockers and a jammer in the penalty box. At last, Ithaca had their chance, and they struck. In Buen’s absence, Nora Morse brought the score to 57-55. And still with the blocker advantage, Jagger took control of the next jam and gave her team 4 points, overtaking BRD 57-59. The crowd erupted. Koach Hotwheels knew it was time to intercede and called a team time-out. When the BRD skaters lined up on the track again, it was with renewed focus. Appearing as well-matched as ever, the Belligerents and the SufferJets went point-for-point, pass-for-pass, both scores climbing slowly.

Defense was vicious on both sides:

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Nora took lead by a hair, only to be reabsorbed into the pack before she could get away. Meanwhile, Chrysteria seemed to have Buen’s

number and bought time for Ovarian Cyster to open a path for Nora to score. A repeating chant of “WHO ARE WE? B-R-D!” galvanized Lurz, Barbie, and Slam, whose impenetrable barricade forced Jagger to pass the star to AKT*47. But even as both teams picked up points, the Belligerents were gaining on Ithaca. With the score at 74-77, Chaos tenaciously defended the SufferJets’ lead, delaying Buenos and holding her to 2 points. 76-77, with 48 seconds left in the period. This final jam would set the tone going into halftime.

The jam start sounded. Rags blazed through the pack for lead. Before she could breathe, Nora was on her tail, thanks to an assist from AKT. With split-second timing, Rags picked up 3 points and called the jam, putting BRD back on top as the period ended.

Going into the second half, Brandywine’s momentum only accelerated. Lurz took the score past the century mark. As BRD approached 130 points with Ithaca still under 100, the SufferJets called a team timeout to regroup. They were able to find some footing again and close the gap 133-116, but it was not to last. As the second period progressed, Brandywine dialed in their strategy ever tighter and continued to pull further into the lead. 155-131… 177-131… 190-139…

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Mindful play by BRD skaters kept them out of the box and in the action. As the clock counted down the last several minutes of the game, the Belligerents maintained their rhythm. Despite tremendous plays by Gorges Curves, Chrysteria, AKT, Nora, and Rainbow, the SufferJets couldn’t seem to get the traction to slow the Belligerents’ roll.

Rainbow and Rags went into the final jam with seconds on the period clock. Rags took lead quickly and put up 4 points before touching her hips, thus bringing the game to a close with a final score of 233 BRD – 148 ILWR.

MVP Jammer BRD: Raggedy Aneurysm

MVP Blocker BRD: Rapid ArrhythMia

MVP Jammer Ithaca: Nora Morse

MPV Blocker Ithaca: Manda Tori Chaos

We at Brandywine Roller Derby thank our friends in the Ithaca League of Women Rollers for visiting and meeting us on the track in this sport we all love. Haha Hatchet is in our thoughts with hopes for a full and speedy recovery!

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2016 Home Opener Brandywine Roller Derby vs. Ithaca League of Women Rollers

Brandywine Roller Derby