State Basketball Champion Howells-Dodge Lady Jaguars Hope History Repeats Itself

When Scott Polacek isn’t teaching social studies at Howells-Dodge consolidated public school in Nebraska, he’s busy making history on the basketball court with the Lady Jaguars.

A Moment 20 Years in the Making

It goes beyond merely leading his girls to a Class D1 girls basketball state championship after defeating unbeaten Bloomfield, 45-42, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. For this particular history lesson, we end with Howells-Dodge capturing both the girls’ and boys’ state basketball titles in a moment that has been 20 years in the making, since a Class D1 school had last taken home both crowns.

However, that one shining moment for the Jags can actually be traced all the way back to three years ago when Coach Polacek began challenging a young Kenadie Throener to take-on a leadership role for the program. Sprinkle in the timely scoring from Kylie Brichacek (who went for a double-double in the Final) and consistent contributions down the line, and it’s no wonder why this small school in northeast Nebraska made such big noise in high school basketball across the state.

Does History Truly Repeat Itself?

“They know the grind of it all, “ Coach Polacek told High School on SI.

“We ask a lot of them – too much at times– but they all come from hard working, traditional farm families around here. The work ethic is kinda ingrained in most of them. The others learn from our tradition and by example.”

The Jaguars plan on finding out with early aspirations of running it back for another Class D1 state championship. Until then, they’ll stick to the study plan while applauding the past. Coach Scott Polacek kindly caught-up with High School on SI to discuss being at the helm of Howells-Dodge’s history state title run in Nebraska, laying the foundation to build something lasting on the court, putting previous state titles to rest, and finding comfort in the special community that surrounds his girls basketball program here in 2026.

Crowns — All Hail The Queens: After winning state the Lady Jags turned out to cheer on the HD Boys Basketball team on their way to a Class D1 title, crowns and all. | Facebook

What made this team so different from the teams that you've coached in the past?

We were able to win the title with just one senior. The past teams were senior-heavy; all focused on “finishing a job.” Kenadie Throener, our lone senior, was on a team of just nine girls as a freshman. I probably laid too much responsibility on her then, and it was hard for her. However, she learned to “not sweat the small stuff” and focus on leadership and the bigger picture. She was a great leader for us and now we have a team which will have the goal of going back-to-back. That will put a lot of pressure on them, if they let it. I will remind them that next year is completely new; a 100% reset. If they can move past the stupid hype that surrounds us, we have a legitimate shot to do it again.

Can you take me back to the talks you had with the girls prior to the start of the season. What that message was to them and how do you feel they responded?

After our second practice or so, I have an individual talk with each player. Goals tend to be the same, but both my senior, Kenadie and my leading scorer, Kylie Brichacek, both understood what it takes to be “1st Team all-state”; the politics of it–you have to be one of the top scorers in the state finals to get on that list. Both of them thought that this was a reasonable goal; and it was. I also mentioned to Kylie that, as a junior, maybe we could go “back to back” and she said–”that seems like a plan.” While these are just girls talking about an unlikely scenario, it was great to see it come true, at least for this season. Regardless, my girls put in the time in, both in practice and shooting well past practice’s end. I always call these girls “7:10’ers”. Practice gets done typically at 6:30pm. They are still shooting around at 7:10pm

Was that last state title in 2017 ever part of the discussion?

We did watch the highlight video as we were waiting for practice one day, just at random. I never pointed out anything. They just commented about how much “joy” that team had when they played. The 2017 team and the 2011 team (before consolidation) have no bearing on this season in my opinion. History is history. While tradition is very important, you can’t lean on those teams to help you; they are mothers and wives now.

When did you know this team was destined for their own historic run at a title?

Our schedule is a remnant of past days when we were a much bigger school. We are in class D1 (1A) in most states. We play mostly 2A schools, due to our larger-size conference. We talked all summer that if we could just play schools our size, we would have “just as a good shot as any” to win the D1 title. Still, I never considered destiny. I was surprised when the final buzzer went.

State Champs!

Howells-Dodge takes down previously unbeaten Bloomfield 45-42 to win the Class D1 State Championship! pic.twitter.com/qJcaW5p7Qk
— KTIC Sports (@KTICSports) March 8, 2026

What did you learn the most about your team during the Class D1 tournament?

I was reminded of the importance of “someone stepping up”. In each title season, we had a girl come “from nowhere” and show up big. Each of these girls–at the bottom of the opponent’s scouting report– was the straw that broke the camel’s back. For us at state, a freshman, Brynn Throener, was that girl. We placed her in the starting lineup after the conference tournament, but were about to change back to our original five starters. I guess it’s good that I hesitated to do that.

How do you feel now that you've helped coach Howells-Dodge to a state championship?

If you would have told me that I’d have three titles–each several years apart– in my first three years as a coach (17 wins–40 losses), I never would have believed you. For me, the most satisfying is the fact that these wins were not “back-to-back”. Some coaches get a magical team which wins them multiple titles. My assistants and I were able to get the right chemistry in 2011, 2017 & 2026. That’s a great accomplishment–but mostly–great talent and bloodlines of my players. You can look back at the absolute dominance of Howells-Dodge during their years (we won six consecutive football titles in the early 2000’s). Honestly, it was bound to happen–or at the very least, we should have been good. One of my Mentors, Jim Morrison (he won five titles here) told me, “Coach P, if you coach long enough, the awards will come.”

When do you start prepping and planning for next season and another chase at a championship?

Right now, they are focused on retraining their body for their first track meet. We ordered championship rings, sent a bunch of thank yous for all the support from our two towns, and planned the team camps and summer league nights we will attend. In April, we’ll have a short meeting, to finalize it all. Honestly, they know the grind of all of it. Giving up their month of June, trying to win state volleyball from July till November, and then trying to be successful in basketball from November 15th to March. We ask a lot of them–too much at times– but they all come from hard working, traditional farm families around here. The work ethic is kinda ingrained in most of them. The others learn from our tradition and by example. This is a great place to coach. Parents are behind me, staff supports our need to practice. It’s a great culture here.

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