Of the 64 teams entered in the WPIAL football playoffs, only one faced the top four seeds in its bracket during the regular season.

Penn Hills is that team.

The Indians faced No. 1 seed Gateway in their season opener and dropped a 19-7 decision.

In week two, Penn Hills faced No. 3 seed and defending champion Bethel Park and lost, 25-0. Two weeks later, the Indians faced No. 4 seed North Allegheny and were defeated 24-7.

Penn Hills closed the regular season with a 30-5 loss to Woodland Hills, the No. 2 seed and Big East Conference champion.

"It's just part of the scheduling process," Penn Hills coach Ron Graham said. "There's no doubt that we had a tough schedule, but we try to look at it in a positive light. A tough schedule can help prepare us for the playoffs."

Despite its losses to the top four seeds, Penn Hills played well enough to qualify for the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. The Indians placed third in the Big East Conference with a 3-2 record and take a 4-5 overall mark into tomorrow's first-round game at Upper St. Clair beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Upper St. Clair tied with Mt. Lebanon for second place in the Great Southern Conference with a 3-2 record, but won the tiebreaker and claimed a home site in the opening round with last week's 21-14 win against the Blue Devils.

The Panthers boast a 6-3 record, with a non-conference loss to Big East runner-up Central Catholic, 31-7, and conference setbacks to champion Bethel Park, 16-14, and surprising Baldwin, 21-17.

"Gateway has to be considered the favorite. They're nationally ranked," Render said. "But there are a lot of good teams in the Class AAAA bracket"

Upper St. Clair and Penn Hills each faced six playoff teams during the regular season. The only team in the WPIAL to have faced seven playoff teams is Mt. Lebanon.

"The tough regular-season schedule will certainly help us in the playoffs," Render said. "We faced some pretty good teams, so the kids know what to expect."

Neither coach was surprised by the WPIAL's decision to match them in the first round.

"The consensus among my coaches was that we would be playing Upper St. Clair," Graham said. "We didn't see them play this year, but did see a tape of their game against Central Catholic, when we were getting ready to play Central."

Render also expected to face Penn Hills, but didn't see the Indians until exchanging tapes at the WPIAL pairings meeting.

"Penn Hills has a lot of great athletes ... guys who can run," Render said. "[Penn Hills] has great team speed."

Graham has a young squad that is led by a sophomore quarterback. Chaz Whittaker has completed 59 of 127 passes for 559 yards and two touchdowns. His top receiver is Brandon Ifill, a Division I recruit who has 16 receptions for 178 yards.

"We were a senior-laden team last year. That left us with inexperienced players at many positions," Graham said. "We came into camp with a senior, junior, and sophomore vying for the starting job at quarterback. The sophomore [Whittaker] beat out the two older kids. Chaz has had some growing pains, but I'm very happy with the progress he's made since the season started."

Terrell Roberson has been Penn Hills leading rusher with 423 yards on 85 carries.

Penn Hills is averaging only 18.9 points per game and allowing 17.8.

"We must have more production from our offense to beat Upper St. Clair," Graham said. "We also have to play solid defense. Upper St. Clair has a balanced offense. We need to keep them off the field."

Upper St. Clair is averaging 27.2 points per game and allowing 17.4.

"We've played Upper St. Clair in the past and one thing is true with all Jim Render-coached teams," Graham said. "They are always disciplined and well coached."

Upper St. Clair quarterback Alex Park has completed 76 of 138 passes for 1,126 yards and 11 touchdowns. Park has also rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns on 73 rushing attempts.

Jacob Siwicki leads the Panthers with 731 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 134 carries. Park's favorite target is Tim Kikta, who has 21 receptions for 383 yards and four touchdowns.

n What: Penn Hills at Upper St. Clair.

n When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

n Where: Panthers Stadium at Upper St. Clair High School.

n The skinny: An interesting first round Class AAAA contest. Penn Hills is talented, but has not played up to preseason expectations.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.