Last night, Morristown ’s Corporal Punishers women’s roller derby
team in a home bout took on the Boardwalk
Brawlers hailing from the South and Central Jersey
Shore .
The Brawlers got
off to a strong start with #17 Out-Break Meggo immediately breaking out and
scoring 14 points in very first jam, while Brawlers
blockers effectively held back the Punishers
jammer. The third jam got off to a rough start as the opposing blockers
tangled. Brawler #1337 FR3AK
N’Rabbit, despite a hard take-down by Bruta Lee, pushed through as lead jammer.
The Punishers pushed back with Maggy
Kyllanfall #187 showing her characteristic talent for exploiting holes in the
opposing defense, Heinz Catchup #57 showing her usual speed, and ASSault Shaker
#AK 47 making the most of a power jam. It wasn’t enough to keep the Brawlers from expanding their lead and
ending the first half with a commanding lead of 110-34.
The Brawlers showed
off very good jammers, notably Lady Demeter, FR3AK N’Rabbit (not slowed by the
rabbit ears on her helmet or her bunny tail), and Out-Break Meggo. Their blockers coordinated well, often forming a wall that was
well-nigh impossible to break. Yet, this was not what gave them such a big
advantage. After all, the Punishers
have competent offense and defense, too. Rather, they were able to disrupt the Punishers time and time again by a perfectly legal but somewhat unorthodox
tactic called Goating. The tactic exploits a derby rule that says “blockers may
not block a jammer outside the zone of engagement.” The “zone of
engagement” is no more than 20 feet behind the pack and no more than 20 feet
ahead. The “pack” is a majority of the blockers. The Brawlers blockers would isolate and obstruct one Punishers blocker and then slow down,
and those five thereby became the pack; the other Punishers suddenly would find themselves 20 feet in front of the
pack and so were required by the rules to let the Brawler jammer sail past them and score points. The Punishers had been prepared better for
shoulder-to-shoulder action than for this, and repeatedly gave up points on
account of it. The Brawlers also used
the Slow Start method to advantage (this uses up time when a key player is in
the penalty box for a one-minute penalty), though this tactic is more common,
and it is one the Punishers
frequently use, too.
In the first jam of the Second Half the Punishers got off to a strong start with Heinz Catchup in a power
jam. Blocking became more aggressive on both sides. Maggy Kyllanfall repeatedly
racked up points, despite at one point taking a hard hit that sent her off
track and into a wall. The Punishers
were able to close the gap, at least in percentage terms, but the Brawlers maintained their lead. The
clever tactics continued to be effective. Voldeloxx gamely skated as jammer for
the Punishers the final jam as the
clock ran out. The Brawlers prevailed 203-119. Skarlet Bekillyas (Brawlers)
and Maggy Kyllanfall (Punishers) were
MVPs.
As always, the bout was enjoyable to watch. I have a pretty
good guess about what tactic the Punishers will be training to counter in their
next practice session.
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