When FSN Pittsburgh released its Thursday night game of the week schedule, one game in particular stood out.

After all, in terms of sparkling achievements in the WPIAL's largest class in recent years, there are likely no other schools that mirror each other more than Central Catholic and Upper St. Clair.

When the two square off tonight at Upper St. Clair at 7 p.m., it'll serve as a meeting of foes whose resumes bear a striking resemblance ... Top-notch coaches (Terry Totten from Central Catholic and Jim Render from Upper St. Clair), recent PIAA Class AAAA titles (Central Catholic in 2007 and Upper St. Clair in 2006) and the propensity for carrying out the phrase coined years ago by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, "Just win, baby." Since 2003, the two have lost just 22 games ... total.

Although Render won't go as far as calling the two programs clones, he did say they share a little more in common than most.

"Tradition-wise, maybe," he said. "I guess there's some similarity there, but how we arrived there, probably not. We're two different makeups in what we do."

Upper St. Clair (3-0) enters tonight's contest -- the non-conference finale for both teams -- as the Post-Gazette's No. 3 team in WPIAL Class AAAA. After earning wins against Penn-Trafford and Pine-Richland, the Panthers pulled out a hard-fought, 23-14 victory at North Allegheny last Friday.

In addition to fielding a defense that forced six turnovers in that game, the Panthers are led by strong-armed senior quarterback Alex Park (6-2, 190) and junior running back Jacob Siwicki (6-0, 195). Park, a two-year starter, has tossed five touchdown passes thus far, while Siwicki, who also started last season, has scored six touchdowns, including three against Pine-Richland.

"They're experienced players and they're playing like experienced players," Render said.

"Alex demonstrated he's able to do a lot of things the other night. He managed the game well, threw the ball well and also ran the ball well. His experience and his ability is really paying off."

The Panthers also have a major threat in the return game with junior Connor Scott (6-0, 170), who returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns against Pine-Richland.

Central Catholic (2-1) comes into the game in a rare position -- coming off a loss. This after the Vikings, who were ranked No. 1 at the time by the Post-Gazette, were upset by Mt. Lebanon, 36-21, at Carnegie Mellon Saturday.

Since 2003, the Vikings have lost only five other games in the regular season. Their record in the games following those losses is 5-0, including 2-0 last season. It's that ability to bounce back quickly that is not lost on Render.

"One thing about Central Catholic is they have that fighting Notre Dame spirit. They don't give up," Render said.

Totten's squad is paced by a speedy running back, Damion Jones-Moore (5-6, 165). Just a sophomore, Jones-Moore is quickly becoming a household name after beginning the season with back-to-back games with more than 200 yards rushing. He's also scored seven touchdowns.

"He's excellent," Render said. "He's very quick, and he made a lot of yardage in their first three games. He just has to be contained. We're very aware that he's quite a weapon."

If the game is anything like last year's, expect a thriller. Vikings kicker Matt Oczypok, who has since graduated, booted a 48-yard field goal with one-minute left to give his team a 10-9 win.

Between memories of that game, as well as an opportunity to play a truly elite program, players for both teams have likely been a little more amped up than normal this week.

But for the coaches, especially Render, there are simply too many "big games" on the schedule to single this one out.

"I don't know if we can get overly excited for any one of these games," Render said. "We can't afford to make a big deal playing any team."

• What: Central Catholic at Upper St. Clair.

• When: 7 p.m., tomorrow.

• Where: Panthers Stadium, Upper St. Clair High School.

• The skinny: It's a non-conference game but still a biggie even though Central Catholic was upset by Mt. Lebanon last weekend.

• TV: The game will be live on FSN Pittsburgh.