It's incorrect to say “The Big Game” is not that big. Robin Luken, the head football coach at Lompoc High, learned the hard way.

“I won the first year, but in the second year I got a ‘For Sale' sign on my yard,” Luken explained. “I lost 14-13 with two seconds on the clock. I went into the house and told my wife, ‘I don't think this town really likes us.'”

It's a funny story now, but he wasn't so sure back then.

“When I interviewed for the job,” he explained, “they told me you can lose all the games Coach Luken, but the one game you need to win is Lompoc-Cabrillo.”

Conquistadores head coach Craig Knowles has been raised with the rivalry.

“You always get fired up - especially me growing up in a family where both my parents are teachers at Cabrillo,” said Cabrillo coach Craig Knowles. “I was introduced to it at quite an early age.”

Such were some of the feelings at the annual Cabrillo-Lompoc Big Game barbecue dinner hosted by George and Cheryl Bedford at their Sunset Auto Dealership in Lompoc Wednesday night.

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The annual dinner, which honors both teams before the Big Game and is catered by Del Clement, brought both teams together - but seated separately.

After the top block barbecue with all the trimmings, Bedford welcomed everyone and wished all good luck.

After dinner, Bedford explained why he and his wife host the dinner and why it is important for them to provide the teams some special recognition.

“These kids are the future of our valley,” Bedford explained. “They are in a sport that requires concentration and discipline and we see so much non-disipline in our community and around the world.

“If this helps just one kid then it's worthwhile - and I think it helps more than that.”

During dinner, Lompoc assistant coach and former Brave player Chris Adams said the game was huge in his life.

“It meant we were going to line up and play our crosstown rivals,” Adams explained. “They live up on the hill and think they are better than us - and it's just our chance to let them know who the dominant people are in this town.”

Adams played on the Braves team in 1997 and 1998, two years that Lompoc won.

Knowles - on the other hand - was on a Cabrillo team in 1996 that defeated the Braves 24-7.

“You always look forward to this game,” Knowles said. “It's a fun thing to be part of as an athlete in this town.

“Everybody comes out for the game and supports both teams - it is a big deal - it's fun for the kids to play in front of a big crowd.”

Everything about this game is big. From the big crowds to the responsibilities.

“It means a lot to me,” said Lompoc lineman Saul Domingues. “Because we have to win - if you lose to them you have to live with it for the rest of your life.”

After going 1-2 in the first three years, Luken has had a lot of success in the series. He is 13-4 and remembers all four losses, the last coming in 2005 against his current assistant coach Don Cross. That game, in which the Conqs won, decided the Los Padres League championship.

“It is probably the biggest rivalry on the Central Coast,” Luken said. “I don't think anything else compares.

“To me it's like USC-UCLA, Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech. This game makes the season.”

The Big Game begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. This evening is the Little Big Game, a game that pits the junior varsity teams against each other. The freshman game is at 4:40 p.m., followed by the junior varsity at 6:30 p.m.

November 13, 2008