Spring swing football: Krause hopes to take steady Bishop Kenny to next level

Crusaders have been one of most consistent teams in the area

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.NewsJax’s high school football Spring Swing continues daily throughout spring practice across the First Coast. Today, we’ll take a quick look at Bishop Kenny.

Tim Krause enjoyed his time running the Nease football program, but something about Bishop Kenny kept pulling him back. 

Some of the best seasons in Kenny football history came with Krause on staff, and those memories, the relationships, the familiarity, are what helped bring him back. It’s always felt like home. 

Krause was on Kenny’s staff under Mark Thorson during some of the Crusaders’ best years. Kenny was 52-16 from 2008-13, which included a regional final berth in 2012. His quarterback in four of those seasons was record-setter John Wolford, who is now in camp with the Los Angeles Rams. He spent the last five years at Nease in St. Johns County, taking the Panthers to the state playoffs once, in 2015. 

But when the job at Kenny opened up after Bobby Raulerson stepped down, Krause was a natural fit. 
Krause said that connection to Kenny, and seeing former players come back and visit during spring, has reinforced just how home he feels with the Crusaders. 

“Watching those guys come back and through has been fun, it’s one of the things I missed a little bit when I was at Nease,” Krause said. “Some of those guys I spent so much of my young career here, missed seeing them on a more regular basis so it’s been fun.”

On the field, how to get Kenny back contending in district play is the first order of business for Krause.

The Crusaders have been consistent, finishing .500 or better every season since 2008. And this year, Kenny is poised to not only have a good crop of returnees, but significant players back up front. 

An area of strength this season comes on both lines for Kenny, a major change from in recent years, when big and experienced linemen were a rarity. Cameron Moewe, Michael Myslinski and Neal Politano are two-way players who will anchor both the offensive and defensive lines. 

“We’ve got a lot of returners who have played some football for us, especially on the line of scrimmage,” Krause said. “Those guys have played a lot of snaps for us and I think will be one of the strengths, which traditionally hasn’t really been the way people I think have looked at Bishop Kenny football. Hopefully that’s one of our strengths, being able to run the football behind those guys.”

Kenny was a constant playoff factor under Thorson and made it once in three seasons under Raulerson. The Crusaders were close, but missed out the other two years under Raulerson. Out of a district that included Bolles, Ponte Vedra and Trinity Christian, Kenny likely enters 2019 as a District 3-5A leader, along with Baker County and perhaps White. 

“That’s the first goal here is to make the playoffs in the short term and then the long goal is to see how well we can build a program and how far we can take it,” Krause said. 

Bishop Kenny 2019 football schedule

Aug. 23, TBA

Aug. 30, Bishop Kenny at Atlantic Coast

Sept. 6, Bishop Kenny at New Smyrna Beach

Sept. 13, TBA

Sept. 20, Bishop Kenny at West Nassau

Sept. 27, White at Bishop Kenny*

Oct. 4, Orange Park at Bishop Kenny

Oct. 11, Bishop Kenny at Westside*

Oct. 18, TBA

Oct. 25, Baker County at Bishop Kenny*

Nov. 1, TBA

* Indicates district game

All games 7 p.m.
 


About the Authors:

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.