Southern California playoffs

No. 15 Palomar at No. 12 Cerritos

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday

Radio: KKSM 1320

Records: Palomar 8-2; Cerritos 9-1

Last meeting: In 2008, Palomar won 38-33 in the Golden Empire Bowl at Bakersfield

At a glance: Palomar is seeded No. 6 in the eight-team Southern California playoffs. The Comets have lost two games this season ---- both by three points, to Grossmont and Fullerton. ... Freshman Nate Ong has stepped in for the injured Matt Christian at QB for the Comets. Ong has completed 105-of-160 passes for 1,187 yards. He has thrown nine interceptions and 11 TDs. RB Orenzo Davis leads the ground game with 125 carries for 875 yards. LSU-bound WR Martavious Lee has 45 catches for 713 yards. ... Cerritos, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, has lost one game ---- by a point to Mt. SAC on a botched PAT in overtime. The Owls have won eight straight games. ... QB Chris Morales leads the Owls, completing 137-of-268 passes for 2,210 yards. He has 25 TD passes and 10 interceptions. Joshua Robbins (32 catches, 502 yards), Lucas Nealy (28-405) and Michael Willie (10-390) are his favorite targets. Tyler Carter (100 carries, 632 yards) and Demetre Chamber (56-322) are the RBs. DB Eric Russell has four interceptions, returning two for scores. ... The Palomar-Cerritos winner will play the Pierce-Fullerton winner in the SoCal semifinals on Nov. 28. The SoCal Championship is Dec. 5. The state championship is Dec. 12 at the home of the Northern champion.

Prediction: Palomar 28, Cerritos 27

---- John Maffei