THE BIG GAME : Mission Bay Seeks Proof of Progress : High Schools: To show they’re no fluke, Buccaneers must beat Kearny--which they’ve done once in 35 tries.

Mission Bay Coach Dennis Pugh already has as many reasons as he does two-way players (11) to smile about the accomplishments of his football team.

Against preseason speculation that had the unranked Buccaneers finishing somewhere near or at the bottom of the City Western League standings, Mission Bay (7-1) has played to its first winning season since 1975 (when it was 5-4), assured itself of its first playoff berth since 1974 and scored more points (179) than have been scored against it for the first time since 1985.

But not all the talk is kind. Are long-suffering Mission Bay fans enjoying a winning season because of--or in spite of--the team’s talent?

“I think people still think we’re a fluke,” Pugh said.

Tonight at 7 against Kearny at Mesa College, the Buccaneers will test their No. 1 defense (5.4 points-against average) against Kearny (also 7-1) for the league title.

“A win here would be nice,” Pugh said. “This is our ‘finally-get-some-respect’ game. But we want to win. This is not just for respect. We’ve played in a lot of supposed mismatches, and we’ve come through those.”

Kearny Coach Willie Matson is pleased with Mission Bay’s new-found success. Matson and Pugh formed a strong friendship when Pugh was an assistant under Matson at Mission Bay for the 1984 and 1985 seasons.

“I wish them all the luck in the world,” Matson said, “except when they play us.”

Kearny, with a 34-1 series lead, seems to have the clear edge. The only time a Mission Bay team defeated Kearny was in 1958.

“We’ll try to make it two,” Pugh said. “We figure beating them twice in 35 years is about right.”

Pugh knows Mission Bay has its work cut out.

“Talent wise, they’re the best in the league, no doubt about it, “ he said. “We can’t make many mistakes, and we don’t want to turn the ball over.” But the key, he said, is that “we can’t let them get out to a big lead.”

With quarterback Tommy Rawlins--fourth in county passing with a 185.4-yards-per-game average--Kearny established itself primarily as a throwing team, but Matson said double coverage on his receivers forced the Komets to gear up their ground game.

“The last four weeks we’ve been averaging 200 yards on the ground,” Matson said. “We’re pleased to see the offense diversify. Any one-dimensional team is beatable.”

But Mission Bay, with its thin roster, has been multidimensional from the beginning.

“We have lots of players with lots of abilities,” Pugh said. “(Pat) Betancourt is a running back, wide receiver and safety. He’s always pooped after the game.”

Said Matson: “We have to stop their run game. Then we’ll be OK. And I’m always concerned about mistakes. We just can’t do that.”