The American Indoor Football is pleased to announce EJ Nemeth as its 2012 Offensive Player of the Year.

 

EJ lead the AIF with 1639 passing yards on 133 completions out of 257 attempts for 37 touchdowns  in 2012, leading the Harrisburg Stampede to a 7-2 overall record. Under his leadership he lead the Stampede through the regular season with a 6-1 record and a 1-1 playoff record before the Stampede lost in the AIF Eastern Conference Finals by only two points to the eventual AIF Champions. Stampede Head Coach, Bernie Nowotarski was pleased with EJ’s performance in 2012 and is excited to see him honored with this award, EJ was a major contributor in the success of the Stampede in 2012 and has consistently ranked as one of the best quarterbacks in indoor football. “EJ sets a very high standard for himself and he works very hard to achieve those goals. I look forward to his 2013 season with the Stampede and the goals he has set” commented Coach Nowotarski

 

EJ came to the Stampede with a wealth of indoor and arena experience, the Hamilton, New Jersey native is a Sacred Heart graduate. He led his Baltimore Mariner team to a perfect 16-0 record and captured the AIFA Bowl Championship in the 2010 season. Prior to taking the snaps at First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, he played for both the Alaska Wild and the San Angelo Stampede-Express of the Indoor Football League (IFL). In 2011 EJ took the up-start Trenton Steel to the SIFL conference playoff game before a season ending loss to the Columbus Lions. His talents then went to the AFL as he finished the season with the Utah Blaze and was also with the Soul for the start of this past season.  

 

A complete list of 2012 AIF All-Stars will be released in the near future.

Harrisburg Stampede’s Head Coach, Bernie Nowotarski announced today that WR Colis Martin has re-signed with the Stampede for the 2013 Season.

 

Colis is a player with quickness and runs solid routes. The former CW Post Grad has been with the Stampede for 2 seasons. Last season was a break-out season of sorts for this crafty vet. Colis finished the season with 40 catches for 489 yards and 12 Touchdowns.

 

“Colis is a very unselfish and dedicated player. His own work schedule as a Fire Fighter and his travel time and distance to practice from New Jersey are extremely tough obstacles to over-come but somehow he makes it work. He is an outstanding team player and is one of those guys who gets along with everybody, on and off the field”, commented Nowotarski 

 

Just a Reminder: 2013 Stampede Box Seat Season Tickets go on sale this Friday the 3^rd of August and All games will now be played in the Large Farm Show Arena.

The Harrisburg Stampede Dance Coordinator Ginelle Ophelia has announced the hiring of an Asst. Dance Coach for her staff for the 2013 season.

 

Claire Wallace was introduced as the Assistant Dance Coach today in Harrisburg. Claire will assistant our dance team coordinator and help in the operations of the Harrisburg Starletz and Jr Starletz dance teams. Claire dedication and personality has made her an asset to the team in the previous season. We believe she will do a great job this season and look forward to the improvements her and the dance team coordinator have to offer.

 

Claire is so excited for this opportunity! She has been performing since she was able to walk! She began dancing when she was 5 years old. Her background ranges from gymnastics to theater; including pom line, baton twirling, tap, ballet, jazz, theater, and cheerleading.

 

Claire's first love was gymnastics. She continuously strives to maintain a gymnastic talent, and is always looking to throw some sort of gymnastic level into a routine.

 

She began cheerleading in 2nd grade and continued 10 years thereafter until graduating high school. She has performed on competition squads, and loves the excitement and energy that comes with cheering on a team or performing in front of an excited audience.

 

During her high school career, Claire performed with Blust Performing Arts Center where she was part of a company of dancers, singers, and actors. The Company competed in Star power competitions and also performed a rendition of Les Miserables. She was trained in all aspects of dance and theater. Her favorites still remain ballet and jazz.

 

Also, Claire danced and performed with a pom line and baton twirling team out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania; their routines were done for parades and competitions.

 

She is beyond excited to take her experience with the Harrisburg Stampede Starletz to the next level as the Assistant Dance Coach!

 

Just a Reminder: We will post our Schedule on our Web Site and Face Book as soon as it becomes Public, as well do not miss many of the Stampede Meet and Greets taking place this Off-Season.

Harrisburg Stampede’s Head Coach, Bernie Nowotarski announced today that the Stampede has signed its first player for the 2013 Season. The Stampede has signed Veteran Kicker Erik “The Rouge” Rockhold for the 2013 Season.

As stated the Stampede has already started to re-load for the 2013 season. The first signing of the 2013 Stampede is a huge one, by signing one of the most prolific, steady and consistent Kickers that has played the Indoor game. Erik has spent the last 7 seasons with the now dark Reading Express. Four and half of those seasons were spent with Stampede Head Coach Nowotarski who was the Head Coach and GM with Reading until his mid-season release after winning the AIF 2009 National Championship. So the 2013 season will be a re-union of player and coach.  

Rockhold had a stellar college career kicking for National Power Appalachian State. His Indoor career started with Evansville for 1 season and then the last seven with Reading. Erik accomplished a Kickers milestone this season in his final game of the season with Reading by surpassing the 1000 point mark. Rock will be a big boost to our special teams. He is the consummate Team and Community player and will fit right in with the Stampede LaFamila way of doing things.

Just a Reminder: As we have League and Schedule information along with Ticket information we will be sure to release it as quickly as we get it. There are several Stampede Meet and Greet events scheduled for the Summer…Check out our web site for details

Harrisburg Stampede Owners Justin Coble and Marques Colston have completed the first major task for the 2013 season. That was getting their coaching staff in order and re-signed.

 

The Stampede has already announced the re-signing of Head Coach Bernie Nowotarski and Offensive Coordinator Rick Marsilio. Completing the coaching staff for the 2013 will see the return of Jake Minnich and Bentz Tozer.

 

Minnich will handle the Offensive Line and he will work side by side with OC Marsilio and the Wide Receivers. Tozer will coach the Defensive Line and take over the Special Teams responsibilities.

 

“This is a solid group of coaches, who just like the players believe in the system we are putting in here both on and off the field”, commented HC Nowotarski. “We wanted to get our coaching staff in order and we wanted this done as early as possible during the off-season. Marques and I are extremely happy with the returning group of coaches. They all get along and they all have the same goals and they believe in what we are trying to do here in Harrisburg,” remarked Stampede Owner Justin Coble.      

 

Just a Reminder: Stampede 2013 Season Ticket Information will be available very soon. There are several exciting and fun Stampede Summer events planned. Check out our team web site as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages.

As the Stampede work through the Off-Season and prepare for  2013, one of the first priorities after re-signing HC Nowotarski was to re-establish and re-sign their 2013 Coaching Staff.

 

Stampede Owners Justin Coble and Marques Colston are excited to announce that they have come to terms with New Offensive Coordinator/ Assistant Head Coach, Rick Marsilio.

 

The former Marian Catholic & Towson State University QB has been a coach with the Stampede in each of the team’s first four seasons. In the 2012 season, Marsilio worked directly with League Leading QB EJ Nemeth and the Wide Receivers and was an integral part of putting the Stampede Offensive Game Plan together. At the end of the season, HC Nowotarski reviewed the season and started to make plans for 2013 . After assessing the season and reviewing all the Coaches Exit Interviews, Nowotarski submitted to Coble and Colston his desire to promote Marsilio to the OC/Asst.HC position.

 

“We had no reservations or hesitation with accepting the recommendation to move Rick into the OC/Assistant Head Coaching position. It is a natural fit and the move should continue to allow the Stampede’s high scoring offense to improve and mesh as a solid unit”, commented Stampede Owner, Justin Coble.    

 

I look forward to the challenge and certainly thank the Stampede Ownership and our Head Coach for their vote of confidence and giving me the opportunity to take over as OC/Assistant HC. We plan on being a fast paced high scoring offense, based off of solid fundamentals, remarked Marsilio.

 

Stay updated on all the Stampede happenings by logging onto the teams Web Site, Facebook and Twitter pages. It is our goal to keep our fans up to date and informed of all the exciting Stampede news during the off-season.

Stampede Owners Justin Coble and Marques Colston are proud to announce that Head Coach Bernie Nowotarski will be back on the side-lines for the 2013 Season.

Now this may not come as any surprise after the Stampede made it to the Conference Finals in 2012 and went from worst to first during the season, but the owners wanted their Coaching staff in order. “We work off of 1 year contracts with our players and coaches, and it was very important to us to get our coaching staff re-signed and back in order as quickly as we can and that meant getting Bernie re-signed. We believe it shows our commitment to the fans, players and the community,” commented Coble.

In Nowotarski’s seven seasons of Indoor Coaching he has amassed a 73% win record with a 67-25 regular season record. His 8-4 Play-Off record includes winning four division titles, two conference championships, and a national title. In 2009 he was named Coach of the Year, GM of the Year, the Most Influential Person in Indoor/Arena Football, and the Berks County Coach of the Year.

“We had a great 2012 and it was a very special season. I had no hesitation to re-sign for the 2013 season. We have great thing going on here in Harrisburg. We have 100% Ownership support and backing. Our fan base and partnerships are both growing. Our players believe in the system we run here, both on the field and off the field. This is going to be a fun and exciting Off-Season and I can’t wait for the 2013 season to kick-off,” remarked Nowotarski. “We believe in our “LaFamilia” here in HBurg and its part of what makes us a special organization.”

 

EJ Nemeth followed thru on his on-line auction promise to cut off his hair and donate ALL the proceeds to the Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania. The Stampede League Leading QB and a young man equally dedicated to his commitment to helping kids made good on his promise and has cut off his locks. The on-line auction raised $80 which EJ gladly has given to the Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania. We are very proud of EJ and we look to continue to see our relationship with the Easter Seals grow through many more tandem events. 

 

For more information about Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania, you can contact Katie Mansell with Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania at (717) 591-7027 ext. 5394 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

About Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania:

 

Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical and mental disabilities, and other special needs.  For more than 85 years, we have been offering help and hope to children and adults living with disabilities and to the families that love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work and play in their communities. Support children and adults with disabilities at www.eastersealscentralpa.org.

 

About the Harrisburg Stampede:

The Harrisburg Stampede is a professional indoor football team in American Indoor Football League. The team plays its home games at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center. The team is co-owned by Justin Coble, a local Harrisburg businessmen, and Marques Colston, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints. www.harrisburgstampede.com.

The Harrisburg Stampede hosted the Concord Force Saturday night at the Equine Arena inPennsylvania in the first round of the American Indoor Football League Playoffs. The Stampede entered the game 6-1 while the Force came in with 4-3 record. In the opening quarter both defenses played great while each offense tried to find their stride.

However, late in the first quarter the Force would strike first when wide receiver CJ Washington caught a 32-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Demarcus Simons to give the Force a 6-0 lead. A failed two point conversion kept the lead at 6-0 and on the ensuing Force possession the Stampede defense would step up and make a big play. Simons threw an errant pass that was caught by Stampede defensive back Richard Johnson and returned 15-yards for a touchdown sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy. The successful extra point gave the Stampede their first lead of the game at 7-6 midway through the second quarter.

The Force looked out of sync all night. Quarterback Demarcus Simons and his receivers were not on the same page, so things got progressively worse for the Force. The Stampede offense lead by E.J. Nemeth started to get the offense going in the second quarter, not with his arm but rather with his legs. He rushed for a two yard touchdown before the half to push the lead to 14-6 then the Stampede special teams blocked a potential field goal attempt in the end zone and tackled wide receiver James McCord for a safety, pushing the lead at halftime to 16-6.

The Stampede defensive line was stout all night. However the Force didn’t help their cause by committing fourteen penalties in the game. “It was impossible to overcome all of our mental mistakes,” remarked Force head coach Kent Merideth. “Our offensive line struggled all night and our quarterback didn’t have a chance to look downfield. That being said I’m proud of my players, anytime you make the playoffs in any league it’s an accomplishment so we will take this as a learning experience and get better next year,” added the first year head coach.

To start the second half it was more of the same for the Force. The Stampede took the third quarter kickoff and marched down the field to score another touchdown to increase their lead to 22-6. Again it was a Nemeth rushing touchdown that broke through the Force defense, this one from a yard out. It would be his first of three second half rushing touchdowns. In fact the Stampede would outscore the Force 35 to 12 in the second half and were really never challenged.

Stampede quarterback E.J. Nemeth rushed for four touchdowns, threw for another and completed 16 out of 29 pass attempts. Coach Bernie Nowotarski knows however that next week against the Cape Fear Heroes they must be more efficient. “I thought the offense was a little out of synch tonight. I feel like we need to get into more of a rhythm, the guys know what’s at stake next week and fortunately we have a few days of practice to get better.”

“It feels good to be moving on; these opportunities are what you play for. I told our team it’s a 180 minute season. We took care of our business tonight and next week is another big challenge. We just need to keep our focus going forward and prepare for a team that put it on us a few weeks ago,” added Nowotarski.

When asked about his defense coach added these thoughts, “Defensively, it’s hard to complain about giving up a mere 12 points.” The Stampede defense was dominating, recording six sacks, recovering two fumbles, forcing three safeties and returning an interception return for a touchdown. The defense was led by Daniel Orlebar who had two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and was harassing Force quarterback Demarcus Simons the entire evening. Simons completed 7 out of 24 passes for a mere 129 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.

The Harrisburg Stampede now advance to play the undefeated Cape Fear Heroes next week inFayetteville,NC. Just a few weeks ago the Fear forced eight Stampede turnovers in a 57 to 32 victory. The winner next week will earn the right to play in the American Indoor Football League Championship game the following week.

 

 

Written by Euan McCreath

 

 

The undefeated Cape Fear Heroes take on the once beaten Harrisburg Stampede on June 9^th, 2012 in Fayetteville, NC at the Crown Coliseum, game time is 7:30 pm.

The Stampede featuring some of the best talent in the AIF had their only loss of the season on May 19^th against the Heroes. Since that matchup the Heroes have gone on to beat the Concord Force in their last regular season game and earned a first round bye in the AIF playoffs as well as the conference regular season title while the Stampede went on to beat the Concord Force 52-12 in the first round of the AIF playoffs.

Both of these teams know each other well and the game expects to be a hard fought exciting game. The Heroes have also expanded their tailgating events for this game which start at 4 pm and have added such items as the Gamin Ride, Larry Alexander a local impersonator as well as music and other activities.

Gamin’ Ride is a Mobile Interactive Entertainment Center on wheels that brings the fun right to your doorstep!  Their mobile theater immerses 24 guests into a 4D interactive party Experience courtesy of their vibrating simulation seating, game scents and XBOX 360, PS3, Wii and the Ultimate in High-Definition Gaming. Their on-board interactive event hosts help create the Experience and capture the memories, all the while keeping guests on their toes with a slew of activities, games and contests.