Photo Credit: John Blood

Your hometown women's flat track roller derby team, experiencing an unprecedented run of success—magnified by an early May road trip to Baton Rouge, LA for a pair of unexpected victories against favored foes—resumed the 2018 season last Saturday in Wilmington, NC, squaring off against the Cape Fear Roller Girls. 

Heavy rain relentlessly soaked the small coastal city, and flooded sidewalks ran a dystopian gray. Nobody on the road. Nobody on the beach. Everyone was at Jellybeans—an exemplary roller rink, arcade and concession stand living shamelessly in the distant past. 

The Classic City Rollergirls rolled into town without key contributors Georgia O'Grieffe (broken leg), Crazy Cait Lady (concussion protocol) and team captain Cirque Du Soleil (Hawaii), but refused to let missing pieces define their puzzle. Next skater up. 

Both squads failed to put points on the board in the bout's first jam. CCRG's New Year's Slay got the scoring party started with a tremendous 14-point effort, followed by 16 from Louis Strongarm and (via star pass) Moshya Brady, and Cape Fear quickly found itself up a river minus paddle, trailing 30-4. With an early, comfortable lead, Classic City's stingy defense frustrated Cape Fear's jammers all night long. Whether coaxed into cut track penalties or being smothered by a seemingly neverending stream of blockers, the home team's offense could never get in rhythm. At halftime, CCRG led 120-43.

When action resumed in the second half, Cape Fear gave the small but enthusiastic crowd very little to get excited about. New Year's Slay continued her jamming dominance, showing off speed and quickness that left opposing blockers whiffing in her wake. 

The bout wasn't without moments of drama for Classic City as two important vets, jammer Dani Doom and blocker Kill Easy, spent some time receiving attention from on-site medics for various ailments. Both returned to action for their already shorthanded team, and neither missed a beat. Classic City prevailed 232-104.

Catch the Classic City Rollergirls in action locally June 30 as they take on Atlanta's Jukes of Hazzard.