Kelli ‘Atomic’ Henry was tasked with pulling off a most improbable comeback. As she returned to the track following an officials’ timeout called with barely 1:25 left in the second and final 30-minute half, Henry closed out Saturday night’s Skulls vs. Unicorns mix-up bout going near-nuclear.
With the ’Corns trailing by 51 points, Henry – skating both with and against her Durango Roller Girls teammates in the event – not only broke through the jam session’s initial obstructing pack first, but then kept catching back up to it and passing through until she could do no more.
“It got frustrating,” Skulls member Amber ‘Rocktopus’ Yazzie said afterward with a relieved laugh. “We all really did try to stop her, but … for as tall as she is, she shrinks down really small! There was a point where I was trying to catch her … and she just ducked down – I was like, ‘Well, I can’t get down there.’”
All told Henry lapped the four black-clad Skulls five-and-a-half times before the whistle – earning a derby-most 22 points and cutting the final margin down to 192-163 and putting an emphatic, yet exhausted stamp on the first such event held inside Chapman Hill Ice Arena this summer.
“There’s crying in derby, and for good reason; this is a very hard sport,” said Henry, whose head was slammed onto the deck in a crash ending the first half, and whose lower back was wrenched in another collision occurring with 8:40 left in regulation. “But it teaches you persistence, perseverance and strengthens not only your muscles but your heart and soul. You can rely on your teammates to … rally the troops, and I love the competition – even if we’re on the tail end of the points.”
It took some hard work, however, to put them there. After DRG regular Kelsey ‘Eager Beaver’ Beaver scored the derby’s first point for the Skulls, the Unicorns gained the upper hand at 6-4 and grew their lead to as great as 30-19. But with Beaver and Fredericks – named the winners’ Most Valuable Jammer – starting to push the pace behind increasingly effective blocking, the Skulls went up 43-42 and eventually raced into the break leading 107-69.
“It can start off a little chaotic, especially when we’re all starting to learn each other’s names and trying to figure out what position we like to play,” said Yazzie (the Skulls’ Most Valuable Blocker), of Albuquerque’s Elevated Roller Derby. “But there comes a point where, you know, we all know how to play, know the essentials and so it’ll come together.”
Still, the Unicorns weren’t about to simply fade into the realm of the mythical. Powered by refueled Amanda ‘Swiss Missile’ Sharpless, they exploded out of intermission on a 37-7 run and were suddenly within 10 points, 114-106, with 22:40 to go. But Beaver answered with an eight-point jam, and DRG veteran Stephanie ‘Quad-ess of Pain’ Roberts tacked on another four points just moments later as the Skulls began rebuilding a 20-point pad.
And after increasing their lead to 146-122, Beaver nearly assured her side of victory by booking a team-best 20-point session giving the Skulls their largest advantage yet with roughly 11 minutes remaining.
“Before halftime, we were just kind of throwing ourselves out there and getting used to it,” said Briahnna ‘Novacaine’ Fredericks said of Flagstaff, Arizona’s High Altitude Roller Derby. “But after halftime I think we were really focused; our energy really changed. I really appreciate all my teammates for helping me out; I’m not used to this type of floor so that was really awesome.”
The Roller Girls will now reassemble and prepare for rival ArkValley’s scheduled Aug. 17 invasion.
“There’s a lot that goes into putting on a bout, so it was great to see these stands filled up,” Yazzie said. “Roller derby’s still here and it’s super important to bring a community together.”
