RockTown Rollers vs. Jaded Misfits
Harrisonburg, VA – On Saturday, August 22nd the RockTown Rollers hosted the NRV Jaded Misfits, in a rematch bout, at Funky’s Skate Center. The Rocktown Rollers had lost to the Misfits, in Bluefield, WV, in their initial meeting this past March, but this time the Rocktown Rollers defended their home turf, in a tight match, with a final score of 115 to 102.
With approximately 300 enthusiastic fans in attendance, both teams came ready to leave it all out on the track. With the city’s mayor blowing the first whistle, two old rivals, Xena Whomper and Cha Cha Slammer were the first jammers on the line. Rocktown opened up the bout strong, shutting the Misfits out in their first jam 10-0. But the Misfits had a trick or two up their sleeve. With new Misfit jammer, I.M. Pain, in her very first bout taking on Rocktown’s tiny favorite KILLnitzki things were kept tight in a 4-4 jam. The teams continued to trade for lead jammer as Rocktown held a tight lead over the Jaded Misfits. Then, in the eighth jam I.M. Pain broke through Rocktown’s defense and passed KILLnitzki 10-4, bringing the Misfits to within striking distance. At the end of the first half, Rocktown held the lead at 59-47.
The second half opened with the new-found rivalry, I.M. Pain jamming against KILLnitzki. In a hard fought, extremely physical jam I.M. Pain took a four point lead, closing in on Rocktown’s advantage. The battle for points continued as new Rocktown Roller, Bam Bam Brawler, earned a 4-3 lead over Cha Cha Slammer in the very next jam. Two of the next three jams found Rocktown shut out and the Misfits coming to within just a few points. With Rocktown feeling the heat, in jam seven Grim Nemesis muscled her way around the track scoring 5 unmatched points, while the Misfits suffered a saddening event. Two skaters, Free State Bomber and Cha Cha Slammer both suffered injuries. Free State continued to skate in the bout, after being treated by EMTS, while Cha Cha Slammer was sent to the hospital with a sprained vertebrae and pulled neck muscles. A deafening silence fell among the crowd and skaters alike, waiting for Cha Cha to be wheeled from the rink. With a tight fist, Cha Cha raised her hand to everyone cheering her name and the crowd went wild. Despite the injuries, both teams continued to battle for crucial points. In the end, Rocktown’s Bam Bam Brawler scored 4-0 over the Misfits’ ¼ Pounder, finishing the bout with Rocktown 115 to the Jaded Misfits’ 102.
Also skating for the Rocktown Rollers: Jannacide, Six5onSkates, The Negotiator, Ramsey McDirtbag, Betty Crasher, Vitamin V, Scarrs & Barrs, Super Charger, Demabrat and Knasty Knitter. Rounding out the Jaded Misfits lineup were: Bad Apple JamN, Fishnet Starlet, House of Tear-Her, KitKat Kalamity, Seam Ripper, Carmeliscious, Final Destination, Slingin Gritz, Speed Junkie, and Miniature PincHer.
Both teams skated 148 laps with 16 jams in each half. The average jam time was 1:15. The highest-scoring single jams were skated by I.M. Pain with 12 points for NRV and Xena Whomper with 10 points for Rocktown. I.M. Pain also earned the honors as highest scoring skater, pulling in 58 points (57% of the Misfits total score) and scoring an average of 5.3 points per jam. Rocktown’s leader was Xena Whomper, who racked up 45 points (39% of all Rocktown points) and averaging 5 points per jam. Overall the Jaded Misfits scored an average of 3.2 points per jam to the Rocktown Rollers average jam earning 3.6 points. Out of the 32 total jams, the teams kept it tight with NRV taking lead jammer in 17 jams. KILLnitzki and Xena Whomper both earned lead jammer status for the Rollers in 13% of all jams, to I.M. Pain’s lead jammer status of 25% for the Misfits.
It was a hard-found bout with the referees calling a total of 87 penalties. Rocktown pulled in 38 minor and 8 major penalties, while the Jaded Misfits were called for a total of 34 minors and 7 majors. The skaters with the highest number of penalties were Rocktown’s Betty Crasher with 14 total penalties (13 minors, 1 major) and the Misfits’ Bad Apple JamN and Free State Bomber, with 8 penalties each. Elbows accounted for the greatest number of penalties called; 33% of all Rocktown Roller penalties and 41% of Jaded Misfit penalties.
The Rocktown Rollers welcomed a crowd of approximately 280 people and donated 15% of all ticket sales to the Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA, for a total donation of $300!
The photo above was taken by 
The above photo was taken by Nathan Combs
The Team Photo above was taken by 
