Semipro Football: Piranha leave GDFL, will play 2015 season in WFF

The Central Penn Piranha are leaving the Gridiron Development Football League and will play in the World Football Federation this season, the team announced.

Several GDFL conferences have changed this offseason, which would have resulted in the Piranha traveling farther than they can afford during the playoffs.

"We are not in a financial spot to take that jump with the league," team co-owner and head coach Tom Laubach said in a statement. "We wish (league commissioner) Charles Thompson and the GDFL the best of luck for the 2015 season."

Co-owned by Laubach and former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Raheem Brock, the Piranha have won over 250 games (including playoffs) since being founded in 1995. The team claims to be the winningest team in minor football history.

Central Penn is coming off an 8-1 season in the GDFL that culminated with a 21-19 victory over the Oklahoma City Bounty Hunters in Gridiron Bowl V. The Piranha are switching to the WFF for the league's inaugural season.

The upstart league has three familiar foes for the Piranha in the Albany Metro Mallers, New England Soul, and local rival Lancaster Lightning. Central Penn outscored the Soul and Lighting by combined scores of 86-14 last season. Contests against the Mallers were more competitive.

Central Penn faced Albany three times last season. The Piranha won 52-31 at home and lost 41-13 on the road during the regular season before defeating the Mallers 21-10 in New York during the playoffs. They are expected to play Albany again this season.

The Piranha's season opener will be played at home (Warwick High School) on July 11th against the Lightning. The team's complete schedule is still being finalized by the WFF.

Former NFL player Raheem Brock buys part of Central Penn Piranha

CPP's Raheem Brock (Samuel Getty Photo)

The Central Penn Piranha will have a new home and new ownership in 2014, the team has announced.

Longtime owner-coach Ron Kerr is stepping down after winning three consecutive championships with the Piranha. Kerr is turning his coaching attention to the NCAA level, where he is an assistant coach at Shippensburg University.

Kerr has sold the team to new head coach Tom Laubach and Piranha defensive lineman Raheem Brock, a former NFL defender. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In addition to Kerr, longtime CPP general manager and PR guru Dave Kmiecik has also stepped down. Kmiecik is leaving the Piranha, but he isn't leaving football—he will continue working with the Baltimore Ravens and Harrisburg Stampede in 2014.

It won't be easy for CPP to replace men like Kerr—who lost a total of only eight games in eight seasons—or Kmiecik—who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for 19 years—but the Phish are swimming in the right direction. Excellence starts at the top, and CPP's new owners know how to win.

Brock played in the NFL for ten seasons and won Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. In his career, Brock recorded 347 tackles and 40.5 sacks.

Laubach has been with the team for seven years working under Kerr, who led the team to an 85-5 overall regular season record during his time with the club.

"The previous owners have set the bar high for us," Laubach said in a statement released by the team. "We will do many of the same things that have made us successful since 1995."

The CPP will be returning to the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) this summer and will be playing their home games at Warwick High School in Lititz, PA.

The Piranha's first game of the season, a preseason contest against the Brooklyn Seminoles, will take place at Warwick High School this Saturday (May 17). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.