Mike Ulicny enjoyed a sparkling run during his lengthy tenure as Tri-Valley's head football coach -- from 1989 to 2004 -- but after a lengthy period away from the sidelines apparently he's not quite finished.
Ulicny was appointed Tri-Valley's football coach during a Wednesday night meeting, reinvigorating a successful 16-season stretch (117-65-3) that played its final date in 2004, generating three District 11-A championships and featuring several state tournament runs.
Ulicny succeeds Mike Kogut, who according to the Pottsville Republican was not retained following Tri-Valley's recently concluded 10-2 campaign. Both of Tri-Valley's losses came against Tri-Valley League champion and eventual District 11-A champ Williams Valley.
Kogut, who was 34-26 during his five seasons at the helm, piloted the Bulldogs to a 10-5 record and the PIAA Class A semifinals in 2009.
Ulicny, who remained an assistant coach for two seasons after ending his stint as Tri-Valley's head coach, accomplished the same feat 10 years earlier.
Now he's inheriting a Bulldogs program that's losing seven quality seniors -- including 2,200-yard rusher Blake Bowman.
"I know the kids. I taught them all," Ulicny told the Republican's Kevin Keating. "I'm in the school. I think that's one of the things I was looking for. I know how to run a football program."
And while Tri-Valley closed its head coaching vacancy, Halifax continues to search following Yaacov Yisrael's decision to leave after two seasons. Yisrael recently was named head coach at Shamokin High School.