From Pittsburgh’s southern suburbs, Coach Jim Render’s Upper St Clair Panthers dominated WPIAL AAAA football for a decade, playing in eight championship games in ten years, beginning in 1988. USC won four of these title clashes with the strongest, most dominating team overwhelming North Hills, 38-14, for the 1989 crown.
USC had won the 1988 title with a win over Pittsburgh Central Catholic 7-0, but the Panther administration chose not to participate in the first-year PIAA State playoffs. Central went on to beat Cedar Cliff for the first official AAAA state championship.
In 1989, the Panthers conquered all. In the WPIAL playoffs, USC first beat Hempfield 32-14, then shut out Woodland Hills, before the North Hills title game. Hollidaysburg and Wilson of West Lawn fell in the State playoffs.
The Panthers had shared WPIAL AA titles in 1974 and 1975, playing a 6-6 tie with Gateway in 1974 and a scoreless game with New Castle and Bruce Clark in 1975.
Upper St. Clair marched through the first four 1989 opponents without being scored on.
Then, in a showdown at North Hills, the Indians, who had won 44 straight home games, leaped to a 26-7 halftime lead. The Indians’ quarterback, Geoff Bender, had completed his first eight passes. Down, but far from out, the Panthers staged a great second half rally and came on to edge the home team in a 27-26 thriller.
Star halfback Pete Habib was injured in the later North Allegheny game and fullback Doug Whaley moved to tailback. Whaley was sensational against Butler in the regular season finale and Hempfield in the WPIAL quarter final. He exploded for a stunning 303 yards and five touchdowns in the Golden Tornado game, and 314 and four TD’s against Hempfield. In the two games, he averaged more than 20 yards per carry.
Habib returned for the semi-final with Woodland Hills and its 250 pound fullback, Anderson. The score was 19-0 at the half. Then linebacker Phil Dunn returned an interception for a touchdown, and the Panthers never looked back, winning 27-0.
The AAAA rematch final against North Hills at Three Rivers Stadium was a much anticipated game. The Bender twins, Geoff and Jason, were poised for an epic battle. It was not to be, however, as Render’s Panthers rolled to 17-0 halftime lead, scored on their first second half possession, and the rout was on. USC’s margin stretched to 38-0 before North Hills tallied two late TD’s. The final count of 38-14 was one the most decisive in WPIAL championship history.
Geoff Bender was intercepted five times in the first half. Two-way Panther Mike Quealy intercepted three Bender passes, returning one for a TD, and caught three from junior USC quarterback Mark Gentile, one for a 35 yard touchdown.
In the PIAA state semi final, the Panthers had little difficulty with Hollidaysburg, winning 51-21. In the championship game at Hershey Park, playing in a frigid 15 degrees with a much colder wind chill, USC bested Wilson of West Lawn, and its great QB, Kerry Collins, of later Penn State and NFL fame. The final score was 12-7. Panther corner back Kevin Orie intercepted a Collins pass to thwart a late Bulldog drive.
Three Panthers were selected to the All-State first team. Doug Whaley was named to the offense and Pete Habib and Phil Dunn were honored on the defensive unit. Offensive tackle Dan Nogar and nose guard Jim Colonna were third team choices.
Whaley had an outstanding career at Pitt, while Dunn starred at Akron. Safety Terry Hammons became captain at William & Mary. Habib also played at Akron.
Jim Render is a native of Dover, Ohio, in the area that produced Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State coach. He played his scholastic football at Dover, then went on to Northwestern in 1960. Transferring after a year to Wittenberg, Render was a star quarterback and place kicker After working as an assistant coach at East Liverpool, Ohio, he served as graduate assistant at West Virginia under Jim Carlen and Bobby Bowden and ran the opposing defense at the starters each week. He then became head coach at Carrollton, Ohio. Pennsylvania’s Uniontown hired him in 1972 and in 1979 he took over at Upper St. Clair. His overall record was 290-97-5, after the 2004 season. He continues as USC mentor in 2005.
The Panther run of eight WPIAL AAAA title games in just ten years:
1988 USC 7 Pittsburgh Central Catholic 0
1989 USC 38 North Hills 14
1991 Connellsville 17 USC 7
1992 USC 10 North Allegheny 7
1993 North Hills 21 USC 14
1994 McKeesport 21 USC 14
1995 Penn Hills 20 USC 13
1997 USC 28 Penn-Trafford 27
USC won an amazing 69 straight WPIAL Quad-A conference games during this same ten year period.
Other All-State first teamers in these years included defensive linemen Jim Mansfield in 1988 and Mark Hondru in 1992, D-back Mike Tomko in 1993, all-purpose back Cullen Hawkins in 1995, offensive tackle Jason Bisson in 1996. Second team honorees included Hondru in 1991, quarterback Alan Hamrick in 1992, defensive tackle Todd Amick in 1993, and punter Jay Junko in 1997.
In 2003, the Panthers reached the AAAA final again, losing to the oncoming Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings, 42-10.
USC’s all-winning 1989 offense:
E 83 Eric LUND 6-3 175
T 77 Brad MAUERSBERG 6-3 235
G 66 Jay GRONINGER 5-11 210
C 52 Brian WILSON 6-1 225
G 68 Lew WETZEL 6-2 210
T 74 Dan NOGAR 5-11 240
E 88 Phil DUNN 6-0 200
Q 19 Mark GENTILE 6-5 180
H 35 Pete HABIB 6-0 190
H 44 Mike QUEALY 6-2 175
F 24 Doug WHALEY 5-11 190
The opportunistic Panther defense:
T 68 Lew WETZEL 6-2 210
G 66 Jim COLONNA 6-2 185
T 57 Joel MINIK 5-11 205
L 24 Doug WHALEY 5-11 190
L 34 Keith MARTIN 6-0 190
L 85 Andy WELTY 6-1 170
L 88 Phil DUNN 6-0 200
B 20 Kevin ORIE 6-3 177
B 35 Pete HABIB 6-0 190
B 44 Mike QUEALY 6-2 175
S 3 Terry HAMMONS 5-8 155
The 1989 Panther State Championship record:
34 CHARTIERS VALLEY 0
55 TRINITY 0
43 MT. LEBANON 0
14 BALDWIN 0
27 NORTH HILLS 26
47 SHALER 6
27 BETHEL PARK 6
16 RINGGOLD 0
21 NORTH ALLEGHENY 14
34 BUTLER 14
WPIAL AAAA PLAYOFFS
32 HEMPFIELD 14
27 WOODLAND HILLS 0
38 NORTH HILLS 14
STATE AAAA PLAYOFFS
51 HOLLIDAYSBURG 21
12 WILSON West Lawn 7
Render recently said of his 1989 team, “We had a lot of winners – good athletes who were quality kids – and fine leadership from players like Doug Whaley”.
Whaley said recently that “Coach Render was straight-forward – we always knew where we stood; in his program, we were well prepared for football week-by-week, as well as for life after football.”
He remembers the long journey in 1989 from the first practices through the 15 game season to the state title game – and the physical and emotional commitment involved.
He is still thrilled by the sign near the USC school building listing the 1989 champions.
Doug Whaley is now Pro Scouting Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Defensive back Kevin Orie went on to Indiana University to play baseball and reached the Major Leagues. He has the unique distinction of intercepting a Kerry Collins pass and hitting a home run on a pitch thrown by Roger Clemens.
An earlier Panther All-Stater, 1981 punter John Bruno, was a key player in Penn State’s 1986 National Championship team, holding the Miami Hurricanes at bay with his outstanding punting in the Fiesta Bowl. He was also the winner of the famous verbal exchange with Miami’s Jerome Brown at a steak fry prior to that bowl game.
