Semipro football: Josh Burnett shines in 33-6 Piranha victory

(Photo: Samuel Getty)

Josh Burnett only needed 12 seconds to break open Saturday’s semipro football game in Lititz.

Burnett, who played football at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a score to give the Central Penn Piranha an early 7-0 lead over the Garden State Gladiators at Warwick High School last weekend.

Central Penn never looked back, cruising to a 33-6 win and 2-0 record.

“Josh had a fumble last week, but he’s a young kid so we decided to keep him in there to try to build his confidence,” team co-owner and head coach Tom Laubach said after the game. “And he came through.

“That was a heck of a play — it really set the tone for the game.”

Burnett was later thrust into the game at running back in the fourth quarter due to injuries. He responded by rushing seven times for 47 yards (6.7 yards per carry).

It’s safe to assume fans will be seeing more of Burnett as CPP’s season rolls on.

Up next for the Piranha is a road game against the South Jersey Bengals on Saturday. Their next home game will be played at Warwick High School against the Lehigh Valley Storm on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Piranha reinstated after players and fans responded to team’s folding

The Piranha’s 20-year run was in danger of coming to an end last week.

“Effective immediately, the Central Penn Piranha will be seizing operations for the 2015 season,” team co-owner and head coach Tom Laubach wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday evening.

“There are too many players that want to commit to games but not to practice or team events,” Laubach wrote. “We have had over 10 practices and events this year and the average number of people at those events has been about 11 players.”

Frustrated with the team’s lack of commitment, Laubach shut down the semipro football team.

Jason Bristol, the sports director for WHP CBS 21, published a story about the team folding on Thursday.

The team was serious, and the players responded.

“I immediately got on the phone and made a whole lot of calls to the players to see what we could do,” Piranha quarterback and team captain Mark Jarmon said. “I think winning four straight (championships) got guys complacent.

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.

Piranha will host Mallers in GDFL Game of the Week on Saturday

Coming off a convincing 66-0 win over the Lancaster Lightning on the road last weekend, the Central Penn Piranha will return home to face the Albany Metro Mallers on Saturday in the GDFL Game of the Week.

The Piranha, 3-0 and ranked third in the nation by the Gridiron Developmental Football League, will host the Mallers, ranked 21st, at Warwick High School in Lititz, PA.

Both the Piranha and the Mallers returned to the GDFL in 2014 after winning championships in the RAFL and SPFL leagues, respectively, in 2013. The two teams have combined to outscore their opponents by scores of 123-to-48 in five games this season.

Central Penn and Albany have historically been two of the better teams in minor league football, with talent that has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, Mallers receiver C.J. Tarver was asked to try out for the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. More recently, former Piranha receiver Terrill Barnes was invited to try out for the NFL's Washington Redskins.

Kickoff for Saturday's showdown at Warwick is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Former Piranha receiver Terrill Barnes trys out for Redskins

Barnes, 80, seen during a game during the summer of 2009. (John C. Whitehead/The Patriot-News)

About to enter the 2014 season under new ownership and a new home field, the Central Penn Piranha football team already has reason to brag. Former Phish receiver Terrill Barnes has received an invitation from the Washington Redskins to try out for the team this weekend during their rookie minicamp.

Barnes' alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania (IUP), broke the news on Twitter earlier this week.

Former #IUPFB WR Terrill Barnes has been invited by the Washington Redskins to rookie mini camp beginning on May 16, joining QB Mike Box.
— IUP Crimson Hawks (@IUPCrimsonHawk) May 11, 2014

Barnes spent time with the Piranha during the 2008 and 2009 seasons before going on to play football at the collegiate level.

"When he was with the Piranha a lot of the players told him he needed to go to school, that he was too good to playing here at such a young age," current Piranha head coach and part-owner Tom Laubach said on Friday.

Barnes took his teammates' advice and transferred from Lackawanna Community College to IUP in 2011. In his final season at IUP last fall, Barnes caught 63 passes for 1,104 yards, causing NFL scouts to take notice.

Barnes and his college quarterback, Mike Box, both received invitations from the Redskins to try out for the team this weekend. A Gettysburg native, Barnes stands 6'-3" and weighs in at 215 pounds.

"He is truly a gifted athlete and I believe he will make it in the NFL," Laubach said.

While Barnes tries to make it at the highest level, his former team, the Piranha, are getting ready to kickoff their 2014 season. CPP will take on the Brooklyn Seminoles in their season opener at Warwick High School this Saturday (May 17). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.