Amber Waves of Pain had a tough act to follow, coming only a week after Rollin’ on the River. While derby fans may not have been treated to as many close bouts as they saw at Thunda on the Thundra or Rollin’, those fans looking for upsets and a shakeup of rankings in the South Central Region got more than what they bargained for. Upon unofficial review, here’s what we found out about the South Central Region:

Rather than the Top 10 teams being (mostly) balanced enough to give us competitive bouts (like we saw with Thunda on the Tundra in the North Central), or a distinct two-tier division (like we saw with Rollin’ on the River in the West), Amber Waves of Pain revealed a four-tier (possibly a five-tier) division of teams in the South Central. Kansas City and Texas stand on top, with Nashville and Atlanta possibly a notch below them. The next tier is comprised of No Coast, Tampa Bay, and Houston. The final tier seems to place a depleted and/or exhausted Dallas Derby Devils with Hard Knox and Memphis.

After running off an 11-and-2 record in the regular season, Atlanta’s Dirty South Derby Girls hit the wall in Lincoln… hard. Their 62-point win over seventh-seeded Houston was the second-smallest margin of victory in the quarterfinals, and Atlanta’s only win of the tournament. Atlanta’s wins over Hard Knox and Tampa Bay on the road in Hunstville, Alabama, as well as wins over No Coast and Dallas (twice) in Ft. Worth, suggested they could win on the road as well as they could win at home. They had wins over Carolina and Providence coming into the tournament. Their inability to overcome Nashville in 2010, combined with facing an improved Roller Warriors team than the one they faced in May, are the only reasons I can uncover as to their shocking lack of success at the tournament.

Wither Dallas’s Hell Razors? Perhaps it wasn’t a smaller-than-usual roster that only beat Pacific by 38 points. Dallas fell to Nashville in a quarterfinal bout that had a final margin of victory of less than 40 points, but the bout wasn’t nearly that close as the final score would indicate. Dallas’s sole victory for the weekend came over hapless Memphis in the consolation bracket. What happened to this team’s punishing defense and front walls?

After this weekend, there may be just as few South Central teams willing to travel to Lincoln to take on No Coast as there are major airlines that actually fly into Lincoln Airport. Supported by fans of all ages, the seventh-seeded team went 3-and-1, losing only to tournament runners-up the Texecutioners while taking down Hard Knox, Dallas, and even Tampa Bay. The fan factor in the venue played a factor in No Coast becoming the 2010 host league with the highest jump in seeding after a playoff tournament. Thanks to B2 streaming, most of North America got to see the Mad Maxines become a force to be reckoned with. Beware of Flash Gloria and her blocking crew – they will invoke memories of Sam J. Jones for seasons to come.

After what appeared to be a late-season slide with injuries and defections adding up, Nashville took things up a notch and had a great weekend. Just over two years after skating their first-ever WFTDA-Sanctioned bout (against Tampa Bay on July 26, 2008), Nashville went 2-and-1 in the tournament, clobbering the Hell Razors early and keeping it more competitive in their bout against the Texecutioners than in last year’s regional quarterfinal. On Sunday, Nashville proved that it had finally gotten the Atlanta monkeys off of their backs by defeating them for a second time in 2010, earning their first-ever trip to Championships. Keep an eye on Nashville’s blocking – from hitting to positional trapping, it worked well for them in Lincoln.

Last December, I said that DeRanged of the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls was the 2009 WFTDA MVP, because she was the biggest difference-maker to her team. For 2010 in the South Central, that award should go to the Rollergirl Formerly Known As Snot Rocket, Kelley Young. A team that started off slow in 2010, nearly stumbling against Omaha, falling to Atlanta in the Yaraab Shrine Temple, and falling to Charm City in Baltimore didn’t show a good start for the Roller Warriors in 2010. Going 1-and-2 at ARRGageddon put KCRW at 4-and-4 for 2010. Somehow, someway, Kansas City got it together right in the nick of time – due in part to the return of veterans like Kelley Young, who put 29 points up in one jam against Texas during the Championship bout. Defeats of Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Texas give them their first ever South Central Championship. For their troubles, they get to face whoever wins the Philly Roller Girls-Mad Rollin’ Dolls bout at Uproar on the Lakeshore.

What do we have to look forward to? In addition to the aforementioned Kansas City vs. Philly/Madison bout, the Texas Rollergirls start off Uproar on the Lakeshore up against the Cinderella team of the West, Bay Area Derby Girls. Texas makes its fifth consecutive Championship tournament appearance, though this will be the first time since 2007 than Texas will not enter as the 1st seed from their region. Bay Area Derby makes its first such appearance since 2008. Nashville gets to finish the action on Friday night against the reigning and defending WFTDA Champions, the Oly Rollers, in a first-time-ever matchup.