It will likely go down as the greatest bout in Turf War history. An epic battle in which both teams battled furiously for a full sixty minutes; but in the end it was Crimes that pulled off the three point victory to avenge the three point loss they suffered to the Slammers back in May.

This was it, the final regular season bout and the team that came out on top would face the Rockets in the Championship bout in July. For the Slammers, it was a shot at getting back to the Championship to re-take the title. For the Crimes, it was an opportunity to earn their first appearance in the Turf War Championship bout. The Slammers were coming into the bout with a short bench (only eight players dressed), but were ready to give it their all. The Crimes came into the bout off the momentum of a big win over the Rockets two months ago.

The bout started with Debaucherous Prime on the line for the Crimes against Gnat King Kill for the Slammers. The tone was set right out of the gate as the teams went at each other immediately following the first whistle. The Crimes blockers held up Gnat long enough for Prime to secure lead jammer and pick up a grand slam before Gnat could complete his initial pass. Gnat was able to grab four points though as Prime got tangled up in the pack on his second pass scoring four before calling off the jam making the score 9 - 4 in favor if the Crimes. Handrail put three on the board for the Slammers on the following jam as Screech Around had trouble getting out of the pack. The Slammers opted to go with a two make jammer rotation with Bat Wing out of the lineup so it was Gnat King Kill for the Slammers facing Short Knocks for the Crimes and it was during this jam that we had our first jammer penalty as a track cut call sent Gnat to the box and the Crimes were given an opportunity to strike the first heavy blow. The Slammers defense however had other plans as they stymied Short Knocks for almost the entire sixty seconds only allowing Knocks to get lead jammer and two points. On the following jam Prime grabbed lead jammer but was only able to manage two points before being forced to call the jam off due to Gnat’s speed making the score 13 - 7 in favor of the Crimes. It was now the Slammers’ chance to land a major blow as Screech Around was sent off for track cut allowing Handrail free reign during the fifth jam of the game. Handrail put up fourteen points thanks to some great blocking by the Slammers giving them their first lead of the game with the score 23 - 13. Two jams later the Crimes would answer when a track cut on Handrail allowed Prime to notch fourteen points and get the Crimes to within nine with the score 37 - 28 Slammers. Screech Around then tied the game up at thirty-seven on the following jam as the Crimes defense held up Handrail as he returned to the track from the box. The first half saw the Slammers and Crimes trade blows as the lead changed a couple times. Neither team was able to really get anything going for more than a couple jams. On the last jam of the first half, Debaucherous Prime made the most of a strong Crimes pack as he racked up nineteen points on an even-strength jam to make the score at the half 104 - 92 in favor of the Crimes.

The Crimes started the second half right where they left off as over the next six jams they went on a thirty-two point run giving the Crimes a 136 - 92 lead. Handrail ended the Slammers scoring drought on the very next jam as he put a four spot on the board. The two teams then traded small point-scoring jams over the next eight jams making the score 164 - 140 in favor of the Crimes with just over ten minutes to go in the bout. Then, disaster struck the Crimes. A track cut on Short Knocks allowed Neil Death Experience to put a ten spot on the board and then call it off with Knocks still in the box. Gnat King Kill then added another fifteen to that as he took full advantage of the Slammers’ defensive unit locking down Knocks as he returned to play. Handrail continued the mini-run on the very next jam as the Slammers’ defense continued to pummel Screech Around allowing Handrail to grab eight more points before calling off the jam and extending the lead to 173 - 164 with just over 4:30 left in the game. Just when it looked like the Slammers were going to put it away, Gnat King Kill got sent off for a track cut and Prime went to work. Again the Slammers blocking unit performed admirably holding the league’s leading scorer to only eight points and the score now sat at 173 - 172 Slammers and it appeared we were in for another nail-biting finish between these two squads. The next two jams saw Gnat put up four points for the Slammers while holding Screech scoreless and then Prime put up three for the Crimes while holding Handrail scoreless. The score was now 177 - 175 in favor of the Slammers with 1:25 remaining on the clock. Screech Around faced off against Gnat King Kill in what would end up being the final jam of the bout. Screech secured lead jammer and the Crimes defensive unit went to work holding Gnat up long enough for Screech to grab lead jam, but not much else. On the second pass Screech grabbed four but Brutal, Skulls, Bled and Saint put Gnat on lock-down allowing Screech to put up a grand slam on his third pass. With Gnat still locked up in the pack, Screech was making his way around for a fourth pass when he saw that their were only a couple seconds left on the clock so he slowed down entering turns three and four and watched the clock tick down to 0:00 and then called the jam off sealing the win and the Crimes’ first trip to the Turf War Championship with the final score of 183 - 180.

Scoring (Official):

Crimes: Debaucherous Prime - 92; Screech Around - 51; Short Knocks - 40

Slammers: Gnat King Kill - 86; Handrail - 77; Neil Death Experience - 17

MVPs: The Saint (Crimes); Neil Death Experience (Slammers)

Stats that may only interest me:

• There were only two 0 - 0 jams the entire game.
• The Crimes had five jammer penalties.
• The Slammers had six jammer penalties.
• Debaucherous Prime averaged 5.75 points per jam and was lead jammer 63% of the time he jammed.
• Double Excel played 35 of 43 james (81%)
• Bled Zepplin played in 32 of 43 jams (74%) and had a +/- of +62 (points for minus points against).

With the win, the Crimes move to 2 - 2 on the year and will play the Rockets in the Turf War Championship due to having a better point differential than the Slammers. Also, all three teams ended the season 2 - 2!

Next up on June 29th the GateKeepers travel team takes on #4 Magic City Misfits in a great double header that also features the Arch Rival Roller Girls taking on the Jacksonville Roller Girls. This will take place at the Midwest Sports Hockey Complex at Queeny Park!

One July 20th the Turf War concludes as the Dogtown Rockets look to defend their title against the rising Crimes!

See you at the bouts!

Star-Spangled Hammer

Star-Spangled Hammer and Magilla Guerilla are the announcers for the St. Louis GateKeepers!