First impressions aren’t always accurate.

On a Thursday night in late August of 1997, the Slippery Rock University football team opened its season at Youngstown State.

On just my fourth day of employment at the Butler Eagle, I ventured to Stambaugh Stadium for an early look at the college football team in our county.

What I saw was a 33-9 loss by a team starting a freshman at quarterback, followed by an interview with a coach who liked what he saw out of his team that night.

Hoo, boy. This is going to be rough, covering this team. So I thought.

Little did I know ...

That freshman quarterback was Randy McKavish, who went on to compile a 40-9 record as a four-year starter at The Rock, including four PSAC West titles and three Division II playoff appearances.

The coach was George Mihalik, who retired Wednesday after winning 197 games, back-to-back PSAC championships, compiling six national playoff appearances and entering five different halls of fame.

Attending the Mihalik press conference announcing his retirement felt like attending a funeral.

Sure, it was a time of celebration, reflection and honoring a successful coach.

But this was more than that.

This was the face of a program — perhaps even the face of a university — saying goodbye.

And George Mihalik carries such unspoken titles for a reason.

The man is genuine. While he basked in victory, he never hid after defeat. When something negative happened inside his football program — which was extremely rare — he owned it.

He almost felt responsible for it.

Because he is the patriarch of The Rock family. Once a kid dons that green and white uniform, he becomes a part of Mihalik’s extended family.

Forever.

No coach bats 1.000 when it comes to bringing recruits or transfers into a collegiate football program. In Mihalik’s case, we’re talking about 80-plus players a year for 28 years — roughly 2,200 guys, if you do the math.

To ensure that each and every one of them would wind up a Rock graduate and first-class citizen is impossible.

But Mihalik came pretty darn close.

He always prided himself on winning the right way, not at all costs.

He achieved that goal because this guy lives life the right way — putting family first, respecting people, building and cherishing relationships.

We all should follow such a blueprint.

After that 33-9 loss 18 years ago, Mihalik was still all smiles when it came to talking about Slippery Rock.

It turned out easy to understand why.

George Mihalik and Slippery Rock University — the two belong together and have done right by each other.

Mihalik the coach is retired.

His football program will have his name written all over it for years.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle