It was a wild bout on Saturday night that saw numerous lead changes and even four tie scores at various points of the game. After the dust settled, the RiverFront Crimes completed the Cinderella season and hoisted the Turf War Championship trophy beating the Dogtown Rockets by a score of 155 - 115.

The entire season came down to this moment. All the hard work, blood and sweat prepared these modern-day gladiators for this very battle. The regular season battles were back-and-forth for all three teams as all three ended the season with a 2 - 2 record, but point differential favored the Crimes and Rockets so these two battle-hardened squads faced off for the Turf War trophy.

It began as any Championship bout should. Two of the very best took the jammer line as Magnum, P.I.M.P. faced off against Debaucherous Prime. Magnum quickly grabbed lead jammer, but Prime was not far behind. Magnum grabbed four points, but Prime grabbed two of his own. Shanego Fett added one point on the next jam, but Short Knocks tied it all up at five a piece after grabbing three points on the third jam. The Crimes then went on a 21 - 0 run over the next four jams punctuated by a combined thirteen points by Short Knocks and Debaucherous Prime during a power jam. The next two jams were a comedy of errors as neither team felt the need to keep a jammer on track. Screech Around put eight points up on the board before Drifter returned to play, but shortly after Drifter’s return, Screech Around was sent off allowing Drifter to rack up thirteen points before the jam came to an end with the score 36 - 18 in favor of the Crimes. Starting the jam uncontested, Shanego Fett quickly grabbed lead jammer before Screech returned to play, but Screech quickly found himself on his way back to the penalty box for a back block as Shanego racked up nine points. Then Shanego Fett picked up a track cut that sent him to the box and Screech had enough time to put seven points of his own on the board making the score 43 - 27 in favor of the Crimes. Shanego started the next jam standing in the penalty box allowing Short Knocks to grab lead jammer uncontested. The Crimes defensive unit settled in and really started to set the tone as Knocks grabbed seven points before Shanego could get around for his first scoring pass. The Rockets then began a methodical three-jams as Magnum and Drifter each picked up four points and then Shanego Fett took advantage of some nice defensive blocking by the Rockets to grab seven making the score 50 - 42 in favor of the Crimes. Debaucherous Prime grabbed a quick two on the next jam, but then Drifter put up a big nine point, even-strength jam to pull them within one. Shanego Fett got that single point on the very next jam and just like that we were all knotted up at fifty-two a piece with just over nine minutes to go in the first half. The Crimes defense owned those last nine minutes and change only allowing two points and helping secure lead jammer nine out of the eleven jams to close out the first half with a 74- 54 lead.

The second half began much like the first with Magnum and Prime on the jammer line to start. The only difference this time was Magnum only grabbed three points to Prime’s two. Screech Around grabbed lead jam on the ensuing jam, but then picked up a forearm major. Shanego took full advantage of the situation and after posting nineteen points it was all tied up again 76 - 76. After Drifter gave the Rockets a two point lead on the following jam the Crimes began to take control again as the defense did not allow a single Rocket point over the next five jams while scoring nineteen of their own. The unflappable Rockets took it in stride and erased that deficit in the span of two jams as Drifter put up five and then Magnum put up thirteen points on a even-strength jam. Once again the two teams were tied, the score was now 96 - 96 with just over sixteen minutes to play. The two teams exchanged jabs over the next five jams and it looked like this was going to be a real nail-biter. That outlook changed when Drifter picked up a back block penalty right as the whistles blew to end the fifteenth jam. The Crimes had an opportunity to take control with just under eleven minutes left. The took full advantage. Debaucherous Prime put up a big eighteen points to give the Crimes a 123 - 109 lead. The Crimes’ blockers once again took control and only allowed six points the rest of the game while the jammer rotation put up points on all but one of the remaining eight jams. As the final whistle blew, the Cinderella season was complete and the Crimes hoisted the Turf War championship trophy winning by a final score of 155 - 115.

Scoring (Official):

Crimes: Debaucherous Prime - 63; Screech Around - 47; Short Knocks - 45

Rockets: Shanego Fett - 45; High Pains Drifter - 42; Magnum, P.I.M.P. - 28

MPVs: Crimes - The Saint; Rockets - Specs Offender

Stats that may only interest me:

• Each team had four jammer penalties.
• The Crimes successfully challenged two calls. One sent a Rockets jammer to the box, the other kept Short Knocks out of the box.
• The game was tied four different times throughout the bout.
• The Crimes only allowed three points the final nine minutes of the first half. They only allowed six points the final nine minutes of the second half.

And with this game another Turf War season comes to a close. Three years, three different winners. What an amazing local league season and on behalf of the St. Louis GateKeepers I would like to thank all of the fans for coming out. I would also like to thank our amazing volunteers who come to our bouts and make sure everything goes smoothly. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to our NSOs and skating officials who make these games possible. Hope to see you all in 2014 for Turf War Season IV!

On July 27th the #2 St. Louis GateKeepers take on Rival #3 New York Shock Exchange in a double-header that will also see the B-Keepers taking on New York’s B-Team the Dow Jones Average! You can purchase advance tickets online right now via Brown Paper Tickets!

See you at the bouts!

Star-Spangled Hammer

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

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