Semi-pro football coming back to St. Joseph Shawn Smith is a veteran in terms of experience in the Central Plains Football League from playing to coaching to owning a team.
The Topeka, Kan., resident is behind the latest semi-pro football venture in St. Joseph as he and his wife, Dawn, now own the St. Joseph Bandits — one of five expansion teams in the CPFL for the 2012 season.
This is the latest in multiple attempts to bring this level of football to St. Joseph, following the failure of teams known as the Ravens and Explorers among others. The 8-man football league plays a brand of football with an emphasis on high-powered offense like arena leagues but with one exception. It’s played outdoors.
12/11/11
2012 Season The Central Plains Football League (CPFL) will be entering their 6th season in 2012 and like the previous 5 seasons the CPFL have expanded. The CPFL will see their biggest expansion since the league started 6 years ago with new teams from Missouri which include St. Joseph, Ozark, Fredericktown, Farley and Garden City. Along with the Missouri teams, the CPFL has added teams from Baxter Springs, KS and Oklahoma. The first time in league history, all teams from the from the previous season will be returning which include the 2 time CPFL champions Junction City Force, 2011 National Conference Champions SEMO Copperheads, Springfield Lightning, Kansas City Bulldogs, Topeka Thunder, Jackson Apaches, Newton County Tigers, West Central Warriors, Mills County Militia, Omaha City Rhinos and the longest running CPFL team, the Missouri Mustangs. **Click on title upove to read more
02/18/11
Semi-pro football coming to Sikeston SIKESTON -- Feeling let down because there's no more football?
The Central Plains Football League can hopefully fill that void.
Starting in March, the brand new SEMO Copperheads semi-pro football team will be calling the Sikeston Complex their new home as they begin their first year as part of the CPFL.
"It's basically an adult, minor league football league," SEMO Copperhead co-owner Austin Reed said. "We have guys that range from 18-years old to 44-years old. We kind of view it as a way for the surrounding communities in Southeast Missouri and even Southern Illinois to have some kind of sports entertainment that doesn't involve baseball."
The Copperheads are part of seven new teams added to the CPFL, who now feature 12 teams spanning from Kansas to Nebraska and as close as Jackson and Springfield.
Sikeston's newest football team will feature many high school players that once donned their school colors from Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Scott City, Caruthersville, Sikeston, Charleston, East Prairie, New Madrid, Dexter and Hayti as well as others.
"We started putting this together in May of last year and it was a lot of word of mouth," Reed said about player involvement. "We had a few tryouts to get a feel of who could play where."
11/21/10
2011 Schedule Set with New Teams Kansas City, MO – The owners of the Central Plains Football League approved the 2011 schedule early November and with the addition of 7 new teams, the CPFL will have a total 12 teams for the upcoming season. The 12 teams that will make up the 2011 CPFL will be as far North as Omaha, NE and as far South as Cape Girardeau, MO. The CPFL will have 5 returning teams from last season; the 2010 Champions, Junction City Force, Topeka Thunder, Missouri Mustangs, Kansas City Bulldogs and the Springfield Lightning. The new teams are Omaha City Rhinos, Mills County Militia, Weston Rebels, West Central Warriors, Jackson Apaches and the SEMO Copperheads. The league will be divided up into 2 conferences and then 2 divisions in each conference.
