Kennedy-Kenrick soccer going out in style

These are the times when Mike McKenna thinks about his father.

Like when he is lining the field next to the East Norriton Township building, where Kennedy-Kenrick plays its home soccer games. Dad taught him a few tricks to always make sure the field is right.

Or when he's going through his desk at home and finds a yellowed newspaper clipping from 1980 of Francis McKenna coaching Bishop Kenrick. Why did he just find it now? No idea. Mike placed it securely in his bag after he found it. Has to be good luck.

And those words Francis told Mike a week before he died of stomach cancer in February 2006. "He told me how proud he was about what I was doing," Mike remembers.

If only he could see him now.

In August, McKenna wasn't sure if he would be able to field a team. Now, with three games left in the final season ever at Kennedy-Kenrick, tying the school record for wins is within reach.

Francis started the program in 1972 at Bishop Kenrick, before the school merged with Archbishop Kennedy in 1993. With this year's team, McKenna can't help but allude to his father and the history of the program, quickly nearing its end.

"I think the kids feel it somewhat," McKenna said. "Some of the kids have said, 'I love it when you say that stuff to us before the game. It gets me going.' But for me, it's just . . ."

His voice quavers. He can't hold back tears.

"I truthfully think my dad is looking down on me. And he's bringing a lot of positive things for us right now."

Kennedy-Kenrick is 8-4-1 in the Catholic League Blue Division with three games to play. The school record for wins, 11, was set in 2002, McKenna said.

"It's starting to get exciting," said McKenna, who has coached at Kennedy-Kenrick for 13 years. He has made the playoffs eight of those seasons.

His players often tease McKenna about becoming emotional whenever he talks about his father. And typically, one of them yells out, "Don't cry!" before a big speech.

But the Wolverines have rallied around McKenna's encouragement and Kennedy-Kenrick's doomed fate. The school will merge with St. Pius X to form Pope John Paul II, which will open next year and compete athletically in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

"It's pretty weird," senior forward Dan Price said. "I've been here all four years, and knowing that I won't be able to say to my kids, 'That's where I went to school' is going to be weird.

"And it's even weirder for Mike because of his dad."

The announcement that Kennedy-Kenrick would close was made in January 2008 after years of speculation. That made it hard for McKenna to persuade players to come to a program that was already struggling with turnout numbers. The Wolverines won one game in 2007 and six in 2008.

Kennedy-Kenrick is the smallest Catholic League school and likely the only one that would be in Class A, Archbishop Wood coach Joe Krantz said. Even when Krantz went up against McKenna's father, Kenrick was lucky to have a .500 season.

This year, the Wolverines didn't have a preseason. There weren't enough players for it. But a few showed up as school started. Without enough preparation, Kennedy-Kenrick lost its first two games.

Then the winning started. And the bench is almost six deep now.

"When you win, everyone wants to be a part of it," McKenna said.

He said he thinks about his dad all the time. And this season has made those memories even better. McKenna said he will not coach at the new high school but has fielded a few offers from college programs.

But the work at Carpenters Union Local 1595 is shaky, and McKenna may not coach. If that's the result, McKenna is at peace with it.

"If you have to go out, you might as well go out as a winning team," McKenna said. "I was always worried in the last couple of years that it wasn't going to turn around again. Then it turned around. It's a lot of fun."