When the Burlingame and San Mateo football teams renew one of the oldest annual high school rivalry games in the Bay Area Saturday at 11 a.m. in San Mateo, bragging rights and pride won’t be the only things at stake — the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division championship and an automatic berth into the Central Coast Section playoffs are on the line as well.

That makes this year’s Little Big Game the most significant since the 2002 season, when the game also decided the Ocean champion. The Panthers (3-1 PAL Ocean, 7-2 overall) won that year, 20-6, starting a dominating run in this series. Since ’02 the Bearcats (3-1, 6-3) have beaten their rivals just once, in ’03, the same season they won a CCS title.

Burlingame holds a 46-31 lead in the series, with four ties. Now would be a good time for San Mateo to snap its five-year drought against Burlingame. In all likelihood the Bearcats need to win to get into the postseason, since they probably don’t have enough power points to secure an at-large berth.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are in great position to receive an at-large even with a loss — not that Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos is thinking about anything other than a victory. It just puts his team at ease knowing the game won’t make or break its season.

“Regardless of what happens Saturday, we’ve got enough power points to get in CCS,” Philipopoulos said. “There’s not that extra pressure and we’re best when we play loose and fly around and make plays. We’re not content just to make CCS; we want the league championship and right now San Mateo is standing in the way of that.”

It’s not just one thing that lets San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller know that the Little Big Game is different from all the other contests on the schedule. In the days leading up to the game, everyone lets him know just how big this game is.

“Down the street, in the hallways, in the classroom or through phone calls and e-mails, the alumni, community and students let you know just how important this is to them,” Scheller said.

Said Philipopoulos: “The biggest difference is you see two communities rally around each individual school. One thing I stress to the kids is the history and tradition behind this game is bigger than all of us, and that you’re going out there and playing the game for anyone who has donned a Panther uniform. Competing in this game makes you feel good about what you’re doing and makes you feel good about being a Burlingame Panther, that’s for sure.”

For the actual game itself, this could be one of the quickest Little Big Games in series history. Both teams are run-oriented, relying on a couple of game-changing running backs to inflict serious damage on their opponents. In particular, the Panthers have had a number of quick contests this year because once they get in a rhythm, they’re an efficient machine.

Burlingame has pounded opponents into submission with a physical offensive line, punishing defense, steady quarterback and special teams play to go along with two talented backs in Ilan Lesov and Jordan Pessah. There’s no doubt the Panthers are peaking at the perfect time; they played their most complete game of the season in last week’s 28-12 win over Half Moon Bay.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, are still looking for that one, near-flawless game. If San Mateo wants to have a chance at beating Burlingame, it has to reverse a season-long trend of committing ill-timed and dumbfounded penalties. On-field discipline has been an issue for the Bearcats, who have been their own worst enemy at times even in their victories.

“I’ll take the physical mistakes sometimes but not the mental,” Scheller said. “We’re going to have to play our cleanest game of the year to have a chance to beat them.”

There’s little doubt San Mateo has the talent to compete with Burlingame; the question is does it have the consistency to stay with the Panthers? At times the Bearcats’ lines look dominating; in other moments they’re the ones getting dominated. Scheller is hoping for the former to show up early and often on Saturday. If San Mateo can bring its best performance, the Little Big Game will be an absolute barnburner.

If not, Burlingame could pull away. In David Rango, George Naufahu, Mitch Labbie and John Niupalau, San Mateo has plenty of playmakers who can make a difference. The bottom line is both teams dare their opponents to stop them — and few have.

“Tackling is going to be so important,” Philipopoulos said. “Watching them on film, there’s broken tackle after broken tackle.”

Said Scheller: “Seeing those guys it looks like they’re running down hill because they’re so physical and they’re constantly moving forward. That’s pretty tough to stop, even if you’re in the right position to make a tackle.”

After the PAL realigned its divisions in the offseason, Philipopoulos and Scheller envisioned this dream scenario once they learned both teams would be in the Ocean. Now it’s become reality.

“We’ll root for the other for nine weeks, but in that 10th week all bets are off,” Philipopoulos said. “San Mateo will be ready, and you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be ready come Saturday morning. Even if both teams were 0-9, there would still be excitement. But when you add the fact that you have two very good football teams playing for a league title, it adds that much more mustard on that hot dog. It’s that much bigger.”