You can't help but like Mike Ulicny.
I meet thousands of people every year in my various roles as sports editor, teacher, coach, volunteer firefighter, husband and father, and Ulicny is one of those people I always enjoy talking to.
No matter what the situation, no matter what the location, the 51-year-old always carries a pleasant demeanor and a friendly personality that results in a positive conversation.
An eighth- and ninth-grade earth and physical science teacher at Tri-Valley High School for the past 27 years, Ulicny comes from a great family - the Schuylkill League presents an award to one of its athletic directors every year in his dad Frank's name - loves the outdoors and is passionate about everything he does.
It's that down-home, humble approach that makes him easy to get along with, and makes him a great communicator. He's one of those guys you root for and hope he succeeds.
That what makes the Dawgs' 3-0 start this season such a great story.
Ulicny retired from coaching in 2004 after a 16-year career in which he posted a 117-65-3 record that included three District 11 Class A championships and two trips deep into the PIAA Class A state playoffs.
After Mike Kogut was not re-hired after last season, Ulicny returned to the Tri-Valley sideline this fall "because they needed somebody to run it."
He's taken a team that lost nearly its entire offense from a year ago and guided them to victories over Annville-Cleona, preseason Tri-Valley League favorite Juniata and Newport.
"Before the season started, people said to me, 'We don't have great expectations,' " Ulicny said. "I try to do what's right for the kids and build the program.
"We've had a pleasant start. We've been able to stay pretty healthy, and some of the teams we've played have had some guys banged up. It's part of the game.
"The kids have played well enough to win the game. At times we've struggled, and at times we've played well."
Ulicny came to Tri-Valley in 1986 after two years teaching at Lourdes. He was an assistant coach with Mike Carson for two seasons and with Barry Adams for one before becoming the head coach in 1989.
While kids have changed since his retirement from coaching in 2004, the game hasn't. And Ulicny has stayed in touch with the Tri-Valley community to know what kind of talent he had coming into this season.
He's instilled a solid work ethic into them, and so far it's paid off.
"Realistically, we had a nice team last year, and we lost some real nice players," Ulicny said. "My expectations were not too high.
"But the players had high expectations. They expected to do well. They've worked hard.
"I knew the first three games were going to be tough ones, and I told them that they needed to work extra hard. They've done that, and right now we're 3-0."
A big key to Tri-Valley's success has been the play of quarterback Hunter Harner, who was a tight end on last year's District 11 Class A runner-up squad.
Harner is among the area leaders in rushing with 446 yards and five touchdowns on 72 carries after rushing 37 times for 211 yards and two scores in last week's win at Newport.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound junior has picked up right where graduated quarterback Dalton Miller (1,112 yards, 13 TDs) has left off directing the Dawgs' offense.
"We knew watching Hunter come up through grade school and in the wrestling program that he was a good athlete," Ulicny said. "He was going to be quarterback last year, but Miller was a better fit for the system.
"This year, before the season, I talked to Hunter and told him he's one of the better athletes in the conference. I told him that as long he works at it, he could do well at quarterback. Right now, he's showing that he can.
"He's a heck of a competitor, and we've been able to ride him through three games."
Ulicny is realistic and knows it will be a battle the entire season in the ultra-competitive Tri-Valley League.
Through three weeks, however, the Dawgs are the feel-good story.
"We'll see what happens as the year goes on," Ulicny said. "The Tri-Valley League is very competitive. There's going to be a lot of teams knocking each other off."
Hamburg situation getting pretty ugly
A lot has been written and said about Hamburg senior quarterback Joey Cominsky and the incident that occurred in the second half of the Hawks' victory at Annville-Cleona on Sept. 6.
WGAL-TV video showed Cominsky taking the helmet off a Dutchmen player following a play and hitting him over the head several times with it until he was then decked by another Annville-Cleona player.
The incident went national, and has created quite a fervor in District 3.
Hamburg principal Chris Spohn has been besieged by nasty phone calls and emails from people from across the country, and has had to deal with the incident on a daily basis.
Cominsky was ejected from the game, and by PIAA rules, sat out last Friday's victory over Northern Lebanon.
According to published reports, as of Wednesday, Cominsky's status for tonight's Berks Football League Section 2 opener against Fleetwood is undetermined. It will be interesting to see if any further punishment is handed down.
Player of the Week Darion Jacoby Pottsville
The freshman running back had a coming out party in the second half of the Tide's win over Blue Mountain, gaining 108 of his team-high 141 yards rushing.
Honorable mention: Dustin Vandermartin, Tamaqua; Hunter Harner, Tri-Valley; Stephen Sedesse, Williams Valley; Mike Mulderig, Jim Thorpe