BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford High cheering squad will head to Augusta on Saturday to compete for a state championship — and the Tigers know they will need to put on an incredible show to bring home a title.
“They are going to have to be perfect … dead on,” said Biddeford coach Deb Lebel.
The Tigers won the Class A South regional championship on Saturday, Jan. 26 by more than six points over second-place Marshwood.
“They were very excited. They didn’t have a perfect routine, but they were very, very excited that they won,” said Lebel, who also led the Tigers to a regional title in 2018.
Biddeford has spent the last two weeks “cramming” for the state championships.
“It’s kind of like being at college and cramming for finals. It’s just trying to do everything you can to make sure the routine is perfect for Saturday,” said Lebel.

Lebel, who has won five state titles since taking the job in 2001, has been thrilled with how her team has bonded over the last few months.
“They actually now get along. At first it was hard to get them to realize that you’re going to get nowhere unless you have that bond and now they really do have it,” said Lebel. “It seems like every team is different. This team is very, very talented and they just need to support each other — and now they do … it’s finally coming together.”
The Biddeford coach planned some things for the last week of practice to make sure the girls stayed loose.
“They are so funny because all week we’ve done theme days, so they get to dress a certain way with their set group or their grade. They’ve been having a blast with it, it’s so funny,” said Lebel.
One thing the regional and state cheering competitions do is turn the tables for the cheerleaders, who are used to supporting their school’s other athletic teams.
“There’s quite a few (fans) that are saying they are going to come, so I think it’s kind of neat for them. They think it’s great because we always cheer on the basketball, football, and a lot of my girls go cheer on hockey, and it’s nice for it to be reciprocated,” said Lebel.
Lebel knows her team will need to handle the atmosphere at the August Civic Center.
“I think it’s a little more tense than regionals or any other competition you go to. A lot more fans, a lot more people and extremely talented teams that you’re going up against,” Lebel said.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 780-9017. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.