Road to 400: 12 memorable victories for Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 2, 2018 | 11:09 PM

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Forty-nine years after winning his high school coaching debut, Jim Render celebrated his 400th win Friday night.

It was a night to remember in a career filled with memorable victories. Render’s teams won five WPIAL titles and two state titles as he became the winningest coach in WPIAL history.

His head coaching career started with two seasons at Carrollton, Ohio, and seven at Uniontown. He arrived in 1979 at Upper St. Clair, where he’s now coached for 40 years.

His career record is 400-138-6 in 49 seasons.

Here are 12 wins that stand out among the others:

Sept. 11, 1970

Carrollton 12, East Palestine 7

As a first-year head coach at Carrollton (Ohio) High School, Render celebrated a 12-7 victory at East Palestine in his season debut. The Warriors grabbed a 12-0 lead when Mike Albert returned a third-quarter interception 35 yards for a touchdown.

Sept. 8, 1972

Uniontown 8, Keystone Oaks 0

Just like at Carrollton two years earlier, Render won his WPIAL coaching debut at Uniontown. The Raiders had more than one reason to celebrate that day. Not only was it Render’s first game there, the win also snapped a 19-game losing streak.

Sept. 7, 1979

Upper St. Clair 7, Central Catholic 6

Render lost his USC debut to North Hills a week earlier, but rebounded to defeat Central Catholic, 7-6, in Week 2 in the first of what’s now his 40 seasons with the Panthers.

Nov. 26, 1988

Upper St. Clair 7, Central Catholic 0

Mike Thelk scored the only touchdown at Three Rivers Stadium as USC posted its fourth consecutive shutout to win the WPIAL Class AAAA title. The win qualified the Panthers to compete in the first PIAA playoffs, but USC had decided not to take part.

Nov. 25, 1989

Upper St. Clair 38, North Hills 14

USC won its second consecutive WPIAL Class AAAA title as quarterback Mark Gentile threw two touchdowns.

Dec. 9, 1989

Upper St. Clair 12, Wilson 7

Wilson was quarterbacked by Kerry Collins, but USC’s defense prevailed in the cold at Hersheypark Stadium to win the PIAA Class AAAA title 12-7.

Nov. 28, 1992

Upper St. Clair 10, North Allegheny 7

USC tailback Alan Hamrick broke a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half for a 10-0 lead in the WPIAL Class AAAA final at Three Rivers Stadium.

Nov. 22, 1997

Upper St. Clair 28, Penn-Trafford 27

Render’s fourth WPIAL title was a nail-biter. Penn-Trafford scored with 18 seconds left, but the extra point that would have forced overtime missed.

Oct. 28, 2005

Upper St. Clair 48, Baldwin 0

Render became the first WPIAL coach to reach the 300-win milestone with a 48-0 victory over Baldwin in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round game. He was only the fourth coach in state history to win 300 games.

Nov. 24, 2006

Upper St. Clair 18, Penn Hills 12

Dane Conwell scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown with 58 seconds left at Heinz Field to earn USC an 18-12 victory in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship. The WPIAL title was Render’s fifth.

Dec. 16, 2006

Upper St. Clair 47, Bethlehem Liberty 13

Render celebrated his second state title as USC finished off an undefeated season with a lopsided 47-13 victory in the PIAA Class AAAA final in Hershey. Conwell ran for five touchdowns and 169 yards.

Aug. 31, 2018

Upper St. Clair 16, Peters Township 14

With the home stands nearly full, USC took a 16-0 halftime lead and then relied on its defense to earn Render his 400th career victory. Afterward, his players awarded him the game ball.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Upper St. Clair