MIFL vs GEFA Wars - Part 4
August 6, 2024 GEFA Staff
After the failed attempt at a game with the GEFA, the MIFL began concentrating on themselves, working on a stronger foundation for themselves but the thoughts of a great inter-league all-star game never left John Thellion's mind.
"I knew eventually the game was going to happen and I was still very optimistic it was going to. We just needed the right person within the GEFA to see the game for what it was, fun football amongst old friends." – John Thellion
In 2016, some of those old teams like the NEPA Shock ended up leaving the MIFL. Nick Parlanti brought the NEPA Shock back to the GEFA after being gone for two seasons.
"We were offered a lot in the MIFL that I felt really didn't pan out to anything. Travis Grobes and I parted ways so I was having a conversation with my quarterback, Josh Cragle, and he asked why not go back to the GEFA?" – Nick Parlanti
That same year as the migration back to the GEFA was happening an up and coming was trying to make himself known – James Simerson.
James Simerson was a former high school coach who was patiently trying to get back involved with football but was waiting for the right time to make the transition back.
"I was getting a tattoo and my artist said he played for the NEPA Shock and asked me if I was interested in being a coach. I said I wasn't really sure if that was the right move for me but I'd definitely check them out. I wasn't sure how I'd transition from coaching 11 man down to 8 man." – James Simerson
Simerson showed up to a practice in September and was immediately interested in this new style of football.
"It was faster, which I liked but it took some getting used to. I came in as an assistant at first just so I can learn the game more but by the first game of the season I was named the head coach." – James Simerson
That first season didn’t start off the way Simerson had hoped as head coach. The NEPA Shock started the season 0-2. Though the NEPA Shock had one of the top offenses they struggled to close out games. Finally, in week three facing the Lancaster Outlaws, the Shock got their first win.
"Once we got that first win everything seemed to click after that. We rattled off six straight wins after that and made it to the playoffs for the first time in Shock history." – Nick Parlanti
The Shock set multiple offensive records that season and James Simerson was considered for Coach of the Year his first season. The following year, Simerson became a board member as he accepted the position of League Secretary.
"I was never really into politics, of any kind, but when Thor Marlow asked me about taking over as Secretary I felt it was something worth doing." – James Simerson
The next season, Jeff Winters followed suit, not by bringing the Elizabethtown Mustangs back to the GEFA but going back to the GEFA himself as he became the new Head Coach of the Lancaster Outlaws.
"I never really wanted to leave the GEFA. I remember I was sitting at home thinking about my future when I got a phone call from Lancaster Outlaws owner Bill Perkins. He said he heard I probably wasn't going to bring back the Mustangs for another season so he asked me if I was interested in being his head coach. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to the GEFA, especially after the way I left but after a couple of months I called him back and said let’s do it. Even if we weren’t going to be the Mustangs anymore it was still nice to be back especially with some of my guys." – Jeff Winters
Even with teams beginning to leave the MIFL, John Thellion remained positive with what he and Rio were building. There were still plenty of teams that knew what to expect from the MIFL. The Reading Raptors were now a staple of the MIFL winning back to back MIFL championships. Something no other team in MIFL history had done up to that point.
"As we were losing teams we had other teams show interest. Two teams from down in Delaware that ended up merging to become one team. We also attempted to get in and around the NYC, lower New York area but those plans didn't pan out in New York." – John Thellion
But as the 2017 season wore on, John Thellion was starting to get worn out. Five seasons of fighting and clawing as MIFL Commissioner was starting to take a toll on him.
"Despite the fact that a lot of the nonsense was minimized and even some of it eliminated, I was no longer enjoying it. My mood changed. That’s when I knew it was time to step away.” – John Thellion
This time John wasn’t being forced out, he was going out the way he wanted to but before he could do that he had to make one final game happen, the Flight 21 All-Star Clash with the Great Eastern Football Association. He wanted that last game against the league he helped build.
"John called me after he got out of the hospital and he told me he was having health issues. So I told him he had to do what was best for him. He said he would finish the season as Commissioner and that was really the last we talked about it." – Rio Prisco
Thellion, desperately wanting to make that game a reality called the one person that he always went to when he needed help, Travis Grobes who was in the middle of taking a year out of football when he received a call.
"I was getting ready for work when I got a call from John Thellion. He said he was looking to get in contact with the GEFA about doing an All-Star charity game and I said the only one I really knew that could make it happen would be James. I gave James a call and he said he'd see what he can do." – Travis Grobes
Simerson brought up the idea of a potential All-Star game with the MIFL to the board and the owners to mixed emotions.
"Some of the owners were for it. They thought it was a great idea. It was the board members who really weren’t feeling it.” – James Simerson
Not many of the board members shared the same sentiment as Simerson to want to leave their comfort zone and play a game against another league. Some within the league felt a loss to another league could destroy the GEFA.
"After I brought it up to the owners and the board, a member of the board pulled me to the side and told me that if this vote passes and we lose this game he’d make sure that I would never be in this league again." – James Simerson
In June of 2017, the vote passed 12 votes to 4 in favor of playing the All-Star game against the MIFL. The game would take place in Whitehall, home of the MIFL's Steel City Stampede on July 15.
"We didn't have much time to get the game going and with not having the full support of the GEFA behind me I was under a lot of stress. They picked the venue and we picked the rules." - James Simerson
One of the supporters of the All-Star Clash was Moshannon Valley Vikings Owner Thor Marlow, the man who got Simerson onto the board to begin with.
"I thought the idea of having our league's great players come together to test the will of another league was epic. I knew it'd be a chance for guys to create a bond that I felt was great for the league." - Thor Marlow
Thor Marlow was in charge of selecting the players who would represent the Great Eastern Football Association's All-Star team. It was supposed to be a sense of pride for the players selected but not all the owners wanted their players to be a part of the team.
"We reached out to some players that we felt could really give us an advantage against the smaller league but we were told their owners didn't want them to play. That was really disheartening. I don't think a lot of owners thought this game could get pulled off with less than a month to prepare for it but I knew James was determined to make it happen.” - Thor Marlow
It was starting to look like the biggest enemy of the GEFA wasn’t going to be the MIFL but the GEFA itself. As the game got closer, more and more board members began showing their disdain for the game.
"I had a board member reach out to me and plead with me not to follow through with the game. Another board member even said, I kid you not, he hopes we lose the game the night before the game was to take place.” - James Simerson
On the day of July 15th both leagues filed into the Lehigh Valley Rink in Whitehall to see the first ever inter-league All-Star game between the two leagues that used to be one. Tensions were high as limited seating meant both leagues would have to sit next to each other.
Not only were both leagues cramped together on the same side but the heat from the turf made things unbearable especially as game time approached. Things only got worse when right before kick off the rules that were agreed upon two weeks earlier were now being questioned.
"I had a conference call with Rio and his head official for the game two weeks prior to the game. We went over the rules and broke everything down so it’d be convenient for both leagues. Right before kickoff I got pulled over by the officials with the head coach of the MIFL All-Star team, Jim Collins of the Jersey Devils. They said they had some safety concerns about the rules and were adjusting them on the fly." - James Simerson
All four officials belonged to the MIFL. When Simerson tried getting two officials from the GEFA to work alongside the two officials from the MIFL, he was denied to try and make sure that this game didn't happen.
"I was told that none of the officials from the GEFA were available to be at Whitehall that day so Rio offered two more of his officials as long as we agreed to pay for them. Not only were we playing at their venue but now we were using their officials as well.” - James Simerson
The MIFL felt like they were the better team, that the GEFA was nothing more than a backyard football league. Nothing compared to the Major Indoor Football League. The GEFA was definitely out of their element playing indoors and now with indoor rules.
"I remember we were trying to work on our punt team and the ball hit the ceiling. Their coach was standing there laughing at us. We didn't know you couldn't punt in indoor football.” - Thor Marlow
The MILF All-Stars were made up of the Tri-County Lions, Steel City Stampede, Del Marva Bayriders, Jersey Devils, a lone member of the Reading Raptors, and the Arbutus Thundercats. They were led by veteran Arbutus quarterback, Joe Urso.
"We didn't know much about their league other than they played outdoors and had different rules. We just knew that John and Rio came from that league and we wanted to win this game for them." - Joe Urso
Urso was the golden child of the MIFL. After graduating from Wilkes University, Joe went undrafted into the NFL before getting picked up by the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants' practice squads. Before coming to the MIFL, Joe played for three different professional arena leagues.
To add to the hype of the game, John Thellion, who used to write the Barrel House Blog for the GEFA when he was commissioner, wrote an "optimistic" bombshell the night before predicting the MIFL to win the game over the GEFA, 48-37. He finished the article with a couple of questions… Will it be a MAJOR victory? Or, will we witness a GREAT win?
