Home Other Arch Rival & GateKeepers Chug BrewHaHa Wins To Remain Undefeated

Arch Rival & GateKeepers Chug BrewHaHa Wins To Remain Undefeated

by Brian Ledford

(MILWAUKEE, WI) The St. Louis-based flat-track roller derby franchises featured at Arch City Sports finished this past weekend’s Midwest BrewHaHa invitational with a collective 5-0 result and kept their respective records spotless.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Arch Rival Roller Derby, currently ranked ninth internationally by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), netted victories over #19 Team United (238-119) and #28 Detroit (304-114) to push its record to 5-0 while GateKeepers Roller Derby, the defending champions of the Men’s Roller Derby Association (MRDA), claimed a trifecta with dukes over Texas Men’s (298-98), Twin Cities (425-58) and Drive-By (526-14) to advance its record to 6-0.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Stubborn defenses sparked both squads’ efforts over the three-day event, held at AC-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Arch Rival’s schema of Cloak N’ Drag-Her, Jamheiser Bush, Chewblocka, Kayla Woodward, Shimmy Hoffa, Smarty McFly, Shear-Ra Powers, Party Foul, Salty, Grant and Molotov utilized second-period shutdowns of the opposition in its two wins.

Conversely, the GateKeepers blocking battalion of Bled Zepplin, The Saint, Spin Diesel, Percy Controll, Hulk, Double Excel, Kyle Stark, The Doc, Wrecking Bill, Nate Bower, Specs Offender and Monster Jam flexed muscles early and commanded early first-period leads en route to three overwhelming victories.

The pair of squads now takes their perfect sanctioned records into the upcoming co-hosted Sibling Rivalry invitational, held June 24-26 at Midwest Sport Hockey in Ballwin’s Queeny Park.

BREWHAHA FRIDAY

GATEKEEPERS 526  DRIVE-BY 14

GKRD tapped its BrewHaHa keg early with a 74-0 run from the opening whistle that stymied the Los Angeles, California rep, ranked #21 in the MRDA. St. Louis proceeded to hold Drive-By scoring to seven points in each half en route to the 512-point victory.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Possessing a 17-0 lead after three jams, which statistically in hindsight gave St. Louis the win, jammer David Metcalfe collected a 44-point strike that pushed the GateKeepers’ advantage to 61-0. New addition Sir NixAlot added four on the next rotation and Magnum P.I.M.P. finished the 74-0 rally with a nine-point jam six minutes deep.

After Drive-By broke its goose egg with a four-pointer in Jam 7, the GateKeepers churned 105 points uncontested over the next seven rotations. Launched by ScreechAround’s 30-pointer, supplemented by NixAlot’s 18 and Corey Porter’s 25 and concluded by Metcalfe’s 15 in Jam 14, St. Louis widened its lead to 179-4.

The flat-track shakedown continued as the period progressed and St. Louis held a 265-7 lead at intermission…but more dominance by the locals soon ensued.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Back-to-back 19-pointers from NixAlot and Magnum started the second period that pushed the lead to 303-7 and began a 236-0 run by the locals. Numerous double-digit postings were collected by the GateKeepers as its defense continued its lockdown. By the time Porter scored a rally-ending 39-point jam with minutes left in the game, St. Louis sported a 501-7 lead.

St. Louis punished Drive-By 261-7 in the second half en route to the 526-14 triumph, which marked the fourth time in franchise history that the winning differential was over 500 points. Three GateKeepers each achieved triple-digit outputs, paced by Metcalfe’s personal benchmark of 132. Porter and Magnum added 124 and 111, respectively.

ARCH RIVAL 304 DETROIT 114

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

St. Louis’ meeting with #28 Detroit, a longtime rival at BrewHaHa, and subsequent win was highlighted early by a 63-0 rally. Trailing 8-0 after the first two jams, ARCH jammer Harmony Killerbruise’s 15-point power jam with 26:45 left in the first flipped the scoreboard to a 15-8 St. Louis lead. Co-captain Bricktator followed with a 35 point strike in Jam 4 that pushed the lead to 50-8. Annie Swanson collected five on the next rotation and Killerbruise finished the stretch run with eight posted at the 20:30 mark that extended St. Louis’ advantage to 63-8.

Following an 11-11 push from Arch Rival’s CupQuake and Detroit’s Jilleanne Rookard, St. Louis maintained a 74-19 advantage.

St. Louis widened the differential as the period progressed by capitalizing on Detroit jammer penalties. Bricktator topped her earlier benchmark by scoring a 34-point jam with 12:05 left in the half that widened the score to 125-37.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

To their credit, Detroit clawed away at the deficit over the next eight minutes and, propelled by Sarah Hipel’s 29-pointer scored midway through a 50-8 run, sliced the score to 128-87 with 4:05 left in the frame.

The aforementioned St. Louis wall of blocking put the kibosh on Detroit’s offense for the remainder of the period and collected 29 points straight, resulting in a 159-87 lead for Arch Rival at intermission.

Momentum carried over to the second half and St. Louis netted 19 combined following the third jam, a 16-point rotation from Killerbruise, that extended the score to 177-87 at the 26:20 mark.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Later in the half, Kayla Woodward shifted normal blocking duties and wore the star on Jam 9 and a 15-point power jam ensued. Arch Rival passed the bi-centennial mark with the result at the 18:35 mark and saw the score jump to 208-94.

St. Louis put the finishing touches on the onslaught with Bricktator’s 25-point jam with five minutes left.

Arch Rival outscored Detroit 145-27 in the second period to collect the 304-114 win as Bricktator finished the game with a stats-melting 169 points followed by Killerbruise’s 57.

BREWHAHA SATURDAY

ARCH RIVAL 238  TEAM UNITED 119

The final score’s 2-to-1 ratio is a bit misleading as Team United, ranked #19 internationally, only trailed by three points at intermission. Both teams tussled in the first half but another second-period burst by Arch Rival keyed the team’s fifth consecutive win.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

The Des Moines, Iowa-based opponents held a 28-13 lead after The Whip scored a baker’s dozen with 19:30 left in the first half.

Over the next five rotations, St. Louis flipped the scoreboard, and then some, as Killerbruise, Bricktator, Swanson and their blocking sistren collectively paced a 28-point rally that resulted in a 41-28 Arch Rival lead with 14:35 left in the opening period.

On the next jam, Team United capitalized on a power jam and with The Whip’s 13-point strike tied game 41-41 with twelve minutes left.

St. Louis responded with a three-jam push that yielded 18 points and a 59-41 edge following Swanson’s four-pointer with 7:40 remaining.

Patiently and methodically, Des Moines cultivated a 19-0 run that resulted in a lead change. In the process, Whip notched five, EnerGEEzer Bunny tallied nine and Whip added another five on the period’s penultimate jam that gave Team United a 60-59 edge with :25 left.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

On the half’s final rotation, Arch Rival’s Bricktator collected lead and posted four points that resulted in St. Louis’ 63-60 intermission edge.

Feeling the halftime heat, Arch Rival started the second period with a 57-8 run in the first five jams. After pushing the score to 77-68 after Jam 3, Bricktator’s 28-point power jam at the 23:20 mark extended the locals’ lead to 105-68. Swanson capped the rally with a 15-point strike on the next rotation that raised the score to 120-68.

The momentum continued as the half progressed and with Swanson’s 24-point power jam recorded at the 15:50 mark, St. Louis pushed the score to 146-77.

Defense again became a focal point as Arch Rival held Des Moines to a pair of lead jams for the remainder of the contest. Leading 198-115 with 2:30 left, St. Louis finished the game with a 40-4 sprint in the game’s final two rotations. Killerbruise’s 16-point strike on the penulatimate jam and Bricktator’s 24-4 finale put the exclamation point on the squad’s two-game BrewHaHa sweep.

Arch Rival outscored Team United in the second period, 175-59, en route to the 238-119 triumph that maintained the team’s undefeated mark of 5-0. Bricktator finished the game with 90 points followed by Swanson’s 70 and Killerbruise’s 60.

GATEKEEPERS 298  TEXAS MEN’S 98

Saturday’s MRDA showdown featured the defending champs against the 2015 bronze medalist and additional intrigue was added by the Lone Star State’s win over St. Louis at year’s installment of BrewHaHa. St. Louis’ advantages in the first half in both lead jams and penalties incurred helped propel a near-triple digit lead at halftime and the game’s inevitable 200-point duke.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Trailing 9-4 after the first three rotations, the GateKeepers collected a three-jam, 33-0 run. Following Metcalfe’s grand slam in Jam 4 that tied the score at 9-9, Magnum P.I.M.P. utilized a power jam start en route to a 13-point collection that gave St. Louis a 22-9 lead. Corey Porter added a 15-point, even-strength strike at 21:50 that widened the lead to 37-9.

Another GateKeepers’ 33-0 rally highlighted the middle stretches of the period. Up 86-39 at the 13:05 mark, ScreechAround’s 10-point jam was followed by Kyle Stark’s four-point tally. When Metcalfe collected 19 in Jam 13 that finished the rally, St. Louis possessed a 119-39 lead with 7:15 left in the period.

Metcalfe added a 14-point strike on the period’s penultimate jam and the GateKeepers’ defense remained stubborn as the squad held an eye-opening 151-56 lead at intermission.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

In the second period, St. Louis jammers continued to notch multi-lap point passes while the solid walls of blocking proceeded in lockdown mode.

Metcalfe notched a 17-point jam in the half’s second rotation that pushed the score to 171-56, Magnum collected 19 with 24:10 left to widen the scoreboard to 191-61 and ScreechAround’s 15 point rotation with 20:15 left blossomed the lead to 210-70.

Meanwhile, GateKeepers’s blocking held Texas to minimal points that widened the differential. St. Louis pushed its lead to 276-82 with 6:40 remaining following ScreechAround’s 30-point rotation.

St. Louis outscored Texas 147-42 in the second half to collect the 200-point victory. Metcalfe finished the game with 85 points followed by Magnum’s 72 and ScreechAround’s 70.

BREWHAHA SUNDAY

GATEKEEPERS 425   TWIN CITIES 58

Skate. Score. Repeat. The mantra continued for St. Louis in its final BrewHaHa game and a 163-0 run from the opening whistle wrote the narrative for the overwhelming win over the Minnesotans that were MRDA Champs entrants last season.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Up 3-0 after the opening jam, Porter notched a 30-point strike that extended St. Louis’ lead to 33-0. This set the tone of the GateKeepers’ inevitable 14 lead jams of the game and a triple-digit advantage. Highlighted by scoring strikes of 30 and 23 by Magnum and ScreechAround’s tally of 19 and 10, St. Louis held a 163-0 lead after 14 jams.

The GateKeepers’ defense held Twin Cities to single-digits in the first half and possessed a 229-9 lead at intermission.

In the second period after a 13-7 opening jam claimed by the locals, the GateKeepers produced a 94-0 rally over the next eight rotations that pushed the differential to over 300 points. Metcalfe’s 29-point strike in the period’s fifth rotation and Porter’s 21-point collection three jams later highlighted the run, which saw St. Louis hold a 353-16 lead.

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell

The GateKeepers proceeded to outscore Twin Cities 196-49 in the second period en route to the 425-58 win and improve its record to 6-0. Magnum topped St. Louis scoring with 110 points, followed Porter’s 97 and ScreechAround’s 88.

The GateKeepers outscored its opponents collectively during the BrewHaHa weekend 1249-170, which was a true testament to the high-provisioned play by its blocking battalion.

Heading into the weekend, a combined 5-0 BrewHaHa record was desired by the St. Louis flat-track franchises.

Mission accomplished.

For more information on Arch Rival Roller Derby, go to archrivalrollerderby.com.

For more information on GateKeepers Roller Derby, go to stlgatekeepers.com.

 

+ posts

By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.

Related Articles