Dustin White
Editor

Derby fever has been in full swing in the Bismarck-Mandan area. Nearing the end of their fifth season, the BisMan Bombshellz, Bombzillas and Bomberz have continued going strong.

Kicking off the year with a strong double-header, the Bombshellz and Bombzillas had the chance to show the area what derby was all about.

The Double-Header
Strapping on their skates, the Bombshellz set off against the Magic City Rollers. With home town advantage, the Bombshellz took an early lead, scoring five points in the first jam.

They were quick to capitalize in the following jams, seizing the lead jammer position every chance they had. By the fifth jam, the Bombshellz had a commanding lead, 51-0.

However, the Magic City Rollers fought back valiantly. While Bismarck continued to increase their lead, the Rollers refused to be defeated. Trying to adapt to their opponents, they began to regain a bit of ground.

Moving into the second period, the Bombshellz were crushing the Rollers, 186-18. However, the Rollers regrouped, and for awhile, it seemed as if they might just regain some ground. By the end of the 12th jam, they had placed another 47 points on the board.

But it proved to be too little too late. While the Rollers never gave up, the Bombshellz had found their grove, and rolled into a win, 287-94.

Second Bout
In the second bout of the night, Bismarck once again took an early lead. However, the Bombzillas wouldn’t be able to keep a hold of it. By jam 4, the Forx Roller Derby had seized the lead, 13-9.

The tide continued to turn, as Forx capitalized on their lead. By jam 13, they had took command of the bout, leading 73-25.

Bismarck would have a couple of great successes throughout the final bout, but they were unable regain the lead. Undeterred, the Bombzillas continued to push themselves, doing whatever they could to gain some ground.

The Bombzillas would slowly chip away at Forx, but Forx was able to continually build themselves up.

As the final jam approached, it seemed that Forx had the bout in the bag. That was until jam 21, when out of nowhere, the Bombzillas took control, and quickly put more than a dozen points on the board. The tide was beginning to change once again, but just not quickly enough.

When the bout ended, Forx came out on top, 225-150. However, the real winners of the night was the audience.

While each bout eventually favored one team, those involved never failed to put on a spectacular performance. True athletes, it was clear that each player was in it more for than just a win, but for the love of the game.