Narrative
The 1989 season was all about climbing the mountain again for Upper St. Clair. After watching the team it defeated in the 1988 WPIAL final celebrate the inaugural state championship, the Panthers were eager to climb the mountain. They also brought back most of the starters that made the 1988 team go. They were led by one of the most productive running back duos in state history, Doug Whaley and Pete Habib, to go with a rock-ribbed defense headlined by Whaley and Phil Dunn that had pitched four consecutive shutouts to finish the 1988 season.
Upper St. Clair would start 1989 like they finished 1988, with four shutouts in a row. This set up the “game of the decade” between USC and North Hills. The Indians had won 44 consecutive regular season games and Jim Render had never defeated Jack McCurry. The teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the state, and Sports Channel America was televising the game nationally (making it the second high school football game ever on national TV, following Easton-Phillipsburg on ESPN the previous season). Sports Channel America was the precursor to Fox Sports and Comcast regional networks, which split up and purchased the channels in the 1990s.
North Hills raced out to a 26-7 lead, with All State quarterback Geoff Bender going 9-10 for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half. However, USC scored right before halftime to cut the North Hills lead to 26-14 at the break. The second half was an entirely different story, with the punishing running of Whaley and Habib cracking the North Hills defense. They scored on the opening drive of the second half, and Whaley punched in a TD with seven minutes remaining to complete a shocking comeback for USC. Whaley ran for 167 yards on 16 carries, while Habib chipped in 109 yards on 25 totes. Bender was held to 15 yards passing in the second half as the Panther defense came alive. USC would only be tested again by North Allegheny in week 8, needing a 44 yard touchdown pass from Mark Gentile ot Phil Dunn with 2:53 left to put the Tigers away.
The WPIAL playoffs would feature no such drama. After shutting out Hempfield in the opening round, they would stymie Woodland Hills and 1988 playoff hero Mike Campolo, holding the dynamic fullback to 47 yards in a 27-0 shutout. That set up a rematch of the game of the century with North Hills in the WPIAL Final for a berth in state playoffs. However, there would be absolutely no drama in Three Rivers Stadium, as Kevin Orie would return an interception for a touchdown early in the second quarter, which started a barrage of six interceptions for the Panthers. Orie (two picks on the day) and Mike Quealy (three) both returned picks for touchdowns and Upper St. Clair had a 17-0 lead at halftime, which stretched to 38-0 before the Indians scored a pair of TDs in garbage time.
That punched the ticket for USC into the four team state playoff bracket with District 6 champion Hollidaysburg, District 1’s Coatesville and District 3’s Wilson West Lawn. Wilson West Lawn knocked off returning finalist Cedar Cliff 17-7 in the D3 final (D11 champ Whitehall finished with a loss and a tie and was not in the mix), while Coatesville finished two points ahead of Abington by avenging a regular season tie with Downingtown to win the District 1 championship. Hollidaysburg comfortably outscored the rest of D6/8/10. Hollidaysburg proved no match for Upper St. Clair as the Panthers ran for 378 yards, including 170 from Doug Whaley, in a 51-17 thrashing.
The second 4A state finals were played in frigid temperatures, dropping as low as 13 during the game. Upper St. Clair met Wilson West Lawn, led by All State quarterback and future Penn State and NFL star Kerry Collins. The Panthers marched right down the field on their opening possession, and scored when Pete Habib burst 30 yards off the left side for a score. In the third quarter, Mike Quealy would score on an end around to stretch the USC lead to 12-0, which seemed insurmountable. Wilson West Lawn had only mustered 59 yards in the first half, and could not get their air attack on track in the wind and cold. Collins had an inconsistent day, throwing for just 115 yards after nearly throwing for 2,000 yards heading into the final, but came alive in the fourth quarter. He marched the Cougars down the field for the first time all day to open the third quarter, but a Kevin Orie interception in the end zone ended the threat. On their ensuing possession, Collins took Wilson down the field for their first score score with 5:40 left, then their defense was able to force a three and out. After getting the ball back, Wilson was able to cross the USC 50, but a 15 yard sack by Keith Martin ended the threat. Pete Habib finished with 151 yards on 16 carries, while Doug Whaley chipped in with 13 for 85.
The accolades poured in after the season for USC. The USA ranked them the #4 team in America and they were the first team in Pennsylvania history to go 15-0. Doug Whaley was the AP Player of the Year after leading the state with 1,850 yards. He and Habib both cracked the 1,000 yard mark and were first team All State picks. Linebacker Phil Dunn joined them on the first team as the leader of the defense that gave up less than a touchdown per game. Head coach Jim Render, in his 10th season at Upper St. Clair, was named state Coach of the Year and truly established himself as one of the best in Pennsylvania.
After the 1989 season, Whaley would go on to play defensive back at Pitt. Post college, he joined the Pittsburgh Steeler’s front office and eventually became the GM of the Buffalo Bills. Habib and Dunn both played at Akron, where Dunn was an All American at linebacker after a 201 tackle season in 1991. Kevin Orie’s football career ended after the state title game, but he was the 29th overall pick in the MLB draft after a stellar career at Indiana. He played five seasons in the majors with the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins. Linebacker Andy Welty, the lone sophomore starter on the 1989 champions, was a captain and All Patriot League player at Bucknell. Quarterback Mark Gentile was a teammate of Welty's at Bucknell, who converted to tight end in college and earned All Patriot League honors in 1994. Mike Quealy played both football and baseball at Harvard. And Jim Render announced his retirement this January after 40 season at the helm at Upper St. Clair. He is the winningest coach in WPIAL history, won another state title in 2006, and also made title game appearances in 1992 and 1997.
