SOUTHERN SECTION

ANTELOPE VALLEY (8-3) vs. AYALA (10-1)

At Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.

These teams have never met but are no strangers to big playoff games. Antelope Valley, which has reached the semifinals in five consecutive seasons, is trying to reach a third Division II final in four seasons. Third-seeded Ayala, which lost the division championship game to Dominguez last season, finished second in Division III in 1995. Ayala is averaging 423 yards--240 rushing and 183 passing. Mike Frost has passed for 1,968 yards and 17 touchdowns, and Matt Johnson has rushed for 1,303 yards and 16 touchdowns. Antoine Cameron has added 864 yards and 14 touchdowns rushing. Antelope Valley, which last won a section title in 1994, stunned second-ranked Dominguez, 28-25, in the quarterfinals. Ankle injuries limited senior Bruce Molock to 209 yards rushing during the regular season, but he has gained 291 in two playoff games. Quarterback Justin Mobley has rushed for 519 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has passed for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns. Joe Manning has returned three interceptions for touchdowns and has caught 30 passes for 548 yards and seven touchdowns, including two scores last week.

NOTRE DAME (10-2) vs. RIGHETTI (7-5)

At Righetti High, Santa Maria, 7:30 p.m.

No longer are opponents taking Righetti lightly after upsets of Crescenta Valley and Westlake. The Warriors are 7-2 since an 0-3 start under first-year Coach Greg Dickinson. They lost to Notre Dame, 48-14, in last year’s playoff opener and get another chance to stop Justin Fargas, who has rushed for 6,056 yards and scored 80 touchdowns in his three-year career. Righetti has improved on offense with the emergence of sophomore quarterback Ruben Villa, who passed for 185 yards and rushed for 97 yards in a 35-32 victory over Westlake last week. Field conditions could be important. Notre Dame lost in the rain to St. Paul earlier this season. Righetti beat up on Crescenta Valley in the mud two weeks ago. Notre Dame figures to be strengthened by the return of center-linebacker Ryan Karapetian, who has been out with an ankle injury. The Division III championship game will be held on Friday night.