It was a wild night of double-header action that was full of big hits and plentiful scoring as the B-Keepers sent the Dow Jones Average plummeting by a score of 325 - 81 and in the main event the GateKeepers battled the New York Shock Exchange winning by a score of 192 - 103.

The opening bout of the evening featured the B-Keepers taking on the Dow Jones Average. This was the first meeting between these two “b teams” and would be a great opportunity for these development squads to get valuable experience against unknown opponents. Many of these players are fighting for spots on their respective teams’ charter and play with just as much intensity as their A-Team counterparts. These teams play for keeps and play at a very high level.

The first half started off with a bang as Screech Around put up eighteen points on the first jam, but Jimmy Rage managed to put up four of his own before Screech was able to call of the jam. The Dow Jones Average grabbed lead jammer on the next three jams, but were only able to put four points on the board on the first of the three. The score was 20 - 8 in favor of the B-Keepers when, after grabbing lead jammer, a back block call sent Screech Around off allowing Jimmy Rage to tie the game up at twenty-two a piece. It was at this point the B-Keepers went to work. Over the last fifteen jams of the first half they only failed to gain lead jammer once while going on a 139 to 13 run to make the half-time score 161 - 35 B-Keepers with the lead.

The Dow Jones Average did not fare much better in the second half as the B-Keepers secured lead jammer on the first seven jams. A track-cut penalty on B-Keeper jammer D-Mouthful did allow the Dow Jones Average to put up fourteen points however. It was not until Carnage Asada took the line for the Dow Jones Average that they were able to kill the lead jammer streak. Carnage Asada managed to put four points on the board, but at this point the B-Keepers enjoyed a 209 - 54 lead and showed no signs of slowing down. The B-Keepers only allowed eight points for the remainder of the second half until a last jam back-block call against Oodles of Brutal allowed the Dow Jones Average to put a nineteen point jam. Once the final jam came to its natural conclusion, the B-Keepers celebrated a big 325 - 81 win.

Scoring (Unofficial):

B-Keepers: Handrail - 100; Screech Around - 96; D-Mouthful - 74; Bat Wing - 48; High Pains Drifter - 7

Dow Jones Average: Jimmy Rage - 27; Sammy Dangerfield - 25; Harms Way - 15; Carnage Asada - 12; I.M. Havoc - 2

MVPs: Screech Around (B-Keepers); Harm’s Way (Dow Jones Average)

Stats that may only interest me:

• The B-Keepers had lead jammer 16 of the 20 first-half jams.
• The B-Keepers had four jammer penalties.
• The Dow Jones Average had six jammer penalties.

After the dust of the previous bout had settled it was time for the main event. Every time these two teams have met, the games have been tight and hard-hitting. The last time these two teams met was in the MRDA Tournament in the semi-finals. It was a game that the GateKeepers controlled, but New York was never really out of striking distance. The final of that match was 199 - 167 and with the win the GateKeepers moved on to the MRDA Championship bout against eventual champion Your Mom Men’s Roller Derby.

The GateKeepers jumped out to an early 10 - 0 lead on the first three jams, but a jammer penalty on Short Knocks for a track cut allowed Carnage Asada to rack up twenty-one points for New York and made the score 21 - 10. The two teams would trade points for a few jams, but then Magnum, P.I.M.P. opened up the scoring big time with a twenty-two point even-strength jam that featured some great defensive blocking by Percy Controll, Double Excel and Inquadable Hulk. On the ensuing jam, Jonathan R grabbed lead jammer for the Shock Exchange and then picked up a grand slam as Debaucherous Prime was unable to get anything going against a solid defensive pack by New York. Unfortunately as Johnathan R exited the pack he picked up a track cut penalty giving the GateKeepers their first power jam of the game and Prime went to work notching up fourteen points before the jam came to its natural conclusion and the score now stood at 56 - 30 in favor of the GateKeepers. Both teams then exchanged a point here and a point there for the next few jams until the jammer play got sloppy towards the end of the first half with each team getting a two power jams. As the first half came to end, the GateKeepers held a 82 - 59 lead.

The second half started out much like the first as the two teams made adjustments and exchanged points for the first twelve minutes with neither team able to really get any kind of momentum or advantage going. That all changed on the thirteenth jam of the second half. With the score 107 - 73 in favor of the GateKeepers, Shanego Fett took the line against Ladies Knight. Ladies Knight got out first and grabbed lead jammer but Shanego was not far behind. Ladies Knight came into the pack for his first scoring pass too hot and picked up a back block call that gave the GateKeepers a power jam. Shanego took full advantage, putting up twelve points points before passing the star to Gnat King Kill who then put up nine of his own. Ladies Knight did manage to stem the bleeding a bit by grabbing five points of his own, but the score was now 128 - 78 and the GateKeepers were in full control. The GateKeepers’ defense then went to work. Solid walls and great individual efforts by the GateKeepers’ blocking corps only allowed twenty-five points over the last fourteen minutes of the game while their jammers scored points on every jam. Another track cut by Jonathan R as the second to last jam of the game came to an end allowed the GateKeepers to pad their lead and run out the clock. When Shanego Fett saw the clock hit 0:00, he called the jam and secured a 192 - 103 win for the home squad.

Scoring (Official):

GateKeepers: Magnum, P.I.M.P. - 68; Shanego Fett - 56; Debaucherous Prime - 47; Short Knocks - 12; Gnat King Kill - 8

New York: Carnage Asada - 48; Ladies Knight - 24; Jonathan R - 19; Abe Drinkin - 10; Malcolm Sex - 2

MVPs: Gnat King Kill (GateKeepers); Abe Drinkin (NYSE)

Stats that may only interest me:

• Both the GateKeepers and the Shock Exchange had three power jams in the first half.
• The Shock Exchange score 41 points to the GateKeepers 29 during the power jams in the first half.
• The GateKeepers had no jammer penalties in the second half. The Shock Exchange had two.
• The GateKeepers score 36 points during second half power jams.
• The GateKeepers took the lead on the 9th jam of the game and never surrendered the lead the rest of the game.
• Both teams had star passes that resulted in points.
• The 89 point victory is the largest margin of victory between these two teams.

Well ladies and gentlemen, that does it for the home season for the GateKeepers. The Travel Team next sees action on the road as they head to Portland the last weekend of August to take on #6 Portland and #5 Puget Sound.

I would like to take a moment to thank all of the volunteers who make our bouts possible. These wonderful people help set up and tear down equipment at our bouts. They are our skating officials and our NSOs. Our security and merchandise sellers. I would also like to thank all of the fans for their continued support. Be sure to continue watching this website as we will keep you up-to-date on what is happening. Before you know it it will be time for the 2014 Turf War season! BE READY!

See you at the bouts!

Star-Spangled Hammer

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

Related Images: