AUGUSTA – You can debate whether or not Super Bowl teams need two weeks between their penultimate game and the grand stage.

As for most of the cheerleading squads that qualified for State Championship Saturday at Augusta Civic Center, they’ll be quick to tell you their 14-day break felt like an eternity.

After conference and regional competitions that seemed to arrive in staccato succession this year due to the late Martin Luther King holiday, the usual breather between the regional and state spotlight looks like a surefire way to kill a team’s momentum.

“Four days (between the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Western Class B championships) didn’t feel like enough time,” said Oak Hill coach Angela Roy. “Two weeks feels like forever.”

It’s all certain to come back to the finalists quickly when they gather before an expected throng of more than 5,000 spectators at today’s 22nd annual state meet.

State championship hardware will be handed out to four enrollment classifications in two sessions. Class A and D will compete for their championships at 10 a.m., with the Class B and C finals set for 3 p.m.

Local schools are a good bet to rebound after being shut out at states last February for the first time since 1993.

Brewer, Hermon, Washington Academy and Fort Fairfield are the reigning champions, but Lewiston (Eastern A) and Poland (Western B) won regional crowns here Jan. 26 in Augusta.

For the second straight year, there will be an alluring consolation prize for any runner-ups. The top three teams in each class will qualify for the New England Interscholastic Spirit Championship on March 15 in Woburn, Mass.

Oak Hill advanced to last year’s New England showcase after its best finish ever, second, in the Class B state competition.

“Many of these girls were on that team and gained a lot of great experience in a big meet,” Roy said.

Although Lewiston, Oxford Hills and Edward Little share the burden as co-favorites in Class A, defending champ Brewer and Western winner Marshwood will challenge.

Only a tie could have produced a closer battle for the Western B title than the one between Poland and Oak Hill, which the Knights eked out by two-tenths of a point (133 to 132.8 on a scale of 175).

Ten seniors lead the way for Poland, whose program still boasts the only team state championship in its school’s athletic history.

“We have a bunch of girls who hadn’t cheered since eighth grade because they played basketball,” said Poland coach Amanda Scripture, who competed on the 2004 team that won the Class B crown. “They came back because they wanted to cheer their senior year and be part of this.”

John Bapst and Waterville finished one-two in the Eastern B competition.

Monmouth looks for its second Class C state championship, its record ninth overall, and first since 2002. The Mustangs finished fewer than two points behind victorious Traip in the Western competition.

“It’s much too late to make any drastic changes,” said Monmouth coach Leanne Yeaton Burnham. “We feel good, because we had a five-point deduction on a stunt and a jump sequence that the judges didn’t see, or our score could have been even higher.”

Houlton (2006 state champion) and Washington (2007) may be the Class C favorites after a one-two showing at the Eastern regional in Bangor. Central Aroostook and Machias are teams to beat in ‘D.’

Lisbon and Mountain Valley (Class B), St. Dom’s, Dirigo and Jay (Class C) and Buckfield and Rangeley (Class D) also earned spots in the final.