PORTLAND — Scholars from Hall-Dale High School, Monmouth Academy, and 16 other schools statewide will be competing Saturday in the 23rd Maine Academic Decathlon, organizers said.

The competition is scheduled to be held at Deering High School in Portland. The defending state champion is Scarborough High School.

The theme of the 2008 competition is the U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865. Each school enters a team of nine students of varying levels of scholastic achievement.

Competitors are tested in 10 categories, art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, mathematics, music, science, speech and the super quiz which will feature social science this year, decathlon officials said.

Medals are awarded for individual events and for total scores. State winners have a chance to compete at the national championship in Garden Grove, Calif. This year there will also be an online competition for top small schools with student populations under 650 that do not go to California, they said.

The super quiz portion of the competition is open to the public beginning at 4 p.m. Students will have 10 seconds to answer questions on the Civil War.