Jim Render said he is not fooled by Penn Hills' won-loss record.

The five-loss Indians are a skilled and talented team whose only losses came against quality opponents, he said.

It's true -- all five Penn Hills losses came against teams that qualified for the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. Four were to the Class AAAA conference champions: Gateway (Foothills), Bethel Park (Great Southern), North Allegheny (Northern Six) and Woodland Hills (Big East).

"They have a lot of speed, and they have some size and quickness in the D line in particular," Render said.

These teams meet at 7:30 tonight at Upper St. Clair in a first-round Class AAAA playoff game.

The Indians are led by a tough defense that limited high-scoring Gateway to 19 points in the season opener.

Penn Hills is the only team to hold the Gators to fewer than 35 points this season.

"They are playing pretty aggressively," Penn Hills coach Ron Graham said of his defense. "We have to keep that up."

Particularly, Graham said, his defense needs to contain Upper St. Clair quarterback Alex Park, a talented passer who both coaches say is a good decision-maker.

Render said his senior quarterback never complains about play calls and only wants to do what is best for the team.

"He likes to win and he likes to manage the team," Render said.

Park has 1,126 yards passing and has shown his ability to scramble successfully. He is the second-leading rusher on the team behind running back Jacob Siwicki.

Graham said his defense needs to play well enough to give his offense a chance.

Last week against Woodland Hills, the Indians' offense had 0 yards rushing and 70 yards passing, but Penn Hills' defense created three turnovers and put the team in a competitive position late in the game.

Render said his team is going to a narrower playbook to try to minimize mistakes -- honing in on what his team does well and doing it over and over again.

More importantly, Render wants to control the game so that the Panthers can dictate the style of play.

"I don't want to get into a game where we have to pass the ball or where we have to do anything," he said.

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