Team: Howells-Dodge
Mascot: Jaguars
Colors: Green, Black, Silver
Class: D-1
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Kevin Janata (2nd season)
2018-2019 record: 18-10 (lost to BRLD in first round of state)
Returning Starters: 3
Overview:
The Howells-Dodge Boys Basketball Team looks to build off of and expand upon last year's success when the Jaguars made a postseason run and qualified for state before losing to eventual state champion BRLD.
3 starters return for 2nd year Head Coach Kevin Janata, and they are Blake Sindelar (6'2, SO), R.J. Bayer (6'1, SO), and Luke Rocheford (6'2, SR) running the point.
Janata is also excited about freshmen Lance Brester (6'1) and Aandy Dominguez (5'11).
Janata feels depth coming off the bench could be a team strength
Key losses from last year were Josh Brester, Matt Cada, Kade Hegemann, Lane Hegemann, and Cole Stewart.
Janata says the offseason was good as the team took part in the Speed Camp.
I think anytime you come off a season in which you made state and return quite a few players things are going to look bright for the following year.
I feel the Jaguars not only have a chance to get back to state this year, but do some damage when and if they get back there.
Howells-Dodge is in D-1, down from C-2 last year.
The Jaguars will have to go through Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in Sub-Districts most likely, but there is a reason for having Sub-State.
I think Howells-Dodge can definitely be a returning state qualifier this year.
The Jaguars have a good mix of older and younger players that should mesh pretty well together.
I think depth could really be a good thing for Howells-Dodge, especially given the rigors of a long and demanding season.
Having extra legs to spell certain players in certain games, especially down the stretch, is huge.
The more talent and experience that's on the floor, the more successful a team is going to be.
And I certainly don't think that the Jaguars are an exception to that rule.
Season Outlook:
The Howells-Dodge Boys look to earn a return trip to state.
The Jaguars have a tough schedule once again though with the likes of Pierce, Aquinas, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, Oakland-Craig, BRLD, Wisner-Pilger, Humphrey St. Francis, Logan View/Scribner-Snyder, North Bend Central, Wakefield, and Lutheran High Northeast among the teams on the schedule.
I feel Howells-Dodge has what it takes to beat many of these teams though.
The Jaguars open up the season at home on Thursday against Pierce.
Janata says the Bluejays came on strong at the end of last year. "Coach Emory always has his team prepared. Just watching some film from last year they just play strong man-to-man defense. And they did a nice job coming on late in the season. I know they went on a winning streak there for a while, and they did pretty well in the Mid-State."
It will be interesting to see which team can carry the momentum they gained at the end of last year into this year.
Howells-Dodge is in Sub-District D1-3 with Clarkson/Leigh, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, and Elkhorn Valley.
The Bulldogs figure to be the team to beat in that.
And as I mentioned before, it's likely the Jaguars will have to go through Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in Sub-Districts.
Howells-Dodge may be able to get to Lincoln again regardless of how they fare against the Bulldogs though due to the new Sub-State format.
Janata says his team got a taste of what state was like last year. "Getting down to Lincoln last year I think was good for our underclassmen. They kind of saw what it was all about and they know that that's a possibility, but they kind of know what it takes and how hard you have to work to actually make that happen."
You would think making it and losing in the first round would make this team hungry to get back there this year.
Getting back down to Lincoln is certainly a goal and expectation this team has to have and must play with in mind all season long.
2019-2020 Howells-Dodge Jaguars Boys Basketball Schedule:
12/05/19 Pierce
12/06/19 @ Stanton
12/10/19 @ Aquinas Catholic
12/12/19 Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
12/14/19 @ Oakland-Craig
12/17/19 West Point-Beemer
12/20/19 @ BRLD
12/21/19 Clarkson/Leigh
12/28-12/30 (To Be Determined) Homer Holiday Tournament Homer
01/10/20 @ Humphrey St. Francis
01/11/20 Plainview
01/17/20 @ Wisner-Pilger
01/18/20 @ Mead
01/24/20 @ Tekamah-Herman
01/25/20 Pender
01/28/20 @ Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
02/01-02/08 (To Be Determined) East Husker BBB Tournament TBD
02/13/20 North Bend Central
02/14/20 @ Wakefield
02/21/20 @ Lutheran High Northeast
Team: Howells-Dodge
Mascot: Jaguars
Colors: Green, Black, Silver
Class: C-2
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Scott Polacek (28th season) (387-219 record)
2018-2019 record: 9-14 (lost to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in Sub-Districts)
Returning Starters: N/A
Overview:
The Howells-Dodge Girls Basketball Team looks for their young talent to lead them this year.
The Jaguars have three seniors out for the team in Grace Kreikemeier (5'7, SG), Alyssa Coufal (5'5, SG), and Madyson Cech (5'9, PF), who is out for a while as she is coming back from a knee injury.
Longtime Head Coach Scott Polacek says the Jaguars went to team camps at Wayne, Shelby/Rising City, Minden, and Elkhorn South over the summer, adding the team was competitive.
Grace Dvorak, Tonya Brester, Erin Prusa, Jessi Brester, and Hannah Bayer were lost to graduation last year.
Howells-Dodge certainly has some talented girls to replace, but you have to figure the young talent will step up and lead this team.
Some names that I remember from last year are Cassie Pieper (5'4, JR PG), Riley Pokorny (5'6, JR SG), Brooklyn Macholan (5'8, SO PF), Lilly Praest (5'5, SO G), and Jaedyn Ratzlaff (5'5, SO PG).
I think these five players will step up and contribute greatly for the team.
The Jaguars are still a pretty young team and so it might take a bit for them to get going.
I definitely feel Howells-Dodge will be much improved later in the year and next year, but the early part of this year could be a struggle given the schedule and youth on this team.
A lot of girls are going to have to grow up quickly because there aren't many active seniors on the roster.
Kreikemeier and Coufal have to really step up and lead the team though.
The underclassmen have to feed off their energy and enthusiasm, and follow their lead.
The Jaguars need different girls to step up on different nights, and get multiple contributions from everyone.
It has to be a complete team effort night in and night out.
Howells-Dodge has to play together as one, and go out there and give it their all night in and night out.
The Jaguars have to be one of the toughest teams if not the toughest team in the area both mentally and physically.
Season Outlook:
The Howells-Dodge Girls look for their underclassmen to carry them this year.
The Jaguars have a gauntlet right away with Pierce, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, Oakland-Craig, West Point-Beemer, BRLD, Clarkson/Leigh, and Humphrey St. Francis all before mid-January.
Howells-Dodge figures to be tested early so we'll see how the Jaguars fare early on.
Polacek says his team has to grow from the tough early season tests. "And so even though I know our schedule is very front loaded either you survive it and keep trying to get better or it beats you down."
Howells-Dodge hosts Pierce in the season opener on Thursday.
Polacek says the Bluejays aren't an easy team to open up with. "It's always a tough way to start with them cause he's going to have them ready to go. That's a project for us just to get ourselves ready just to matchup with a team of that caliber. Obviously they're in C-1, and they're in a tough conference, which they're always pretty battle tested."
The Jaguars are in Sub-District C2-5 with Clarkson/Leigh, Stanton, Lutheran High Northeast, and Madison.
Polacek says things are wide open. "Clarkson/Leigh they're rebuilding as we are, so is Stanton, so is Lutheran High. That's definitely a Sub-District we can be competitive in. I think anybody of those five has a shot to win that."
The end of the season is when you want to be playing your best basketball, and if the Jaguars are playing their best towards the end of the season then they should do well in this Sub-District.
Perhaps Howells-Dodge will have Cech back by then, and if so that could make a huge difference.
I think the biggest thing for the Jaguars is to go out there and have fun and enjoy themselves.
Enjoy playing with and for one another.
Sacrifice for the team and have a team first attitude.
I think playing together as a team and fighting for one another will be very big, key, and important for Howells-Dodge.
The Jaguars have to stick together through the highs and lows of the season, and persevere until season's end.
2019-2020 Howells-Dodge Jaguars Girls Basketball Schedule:
12/05/19 Pierce
12/06/19 @ Stanton
12/10/19 @ Aquinas Catholic
12/12/19 Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
12/14/19 @ Oakland-Craig
12/17/19 West Point-Beemer
12/20/19 @ BRLD
12/21/19 Clarkson/Leigh
12/28-12/30 (To Be Determined) Homer Holiday Tournament Homer
01/10/20 @ Humphrey St. Francis
01/11/20 Plainview
01/14/20 Lutheran High Northeast
01/17/20 @ Wisner-Pilger
01/18/20 @ Mead
01/24/20 @ Tekamah-Herman
01/25/20 Pender
01/28/20 @ Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
01/31-02/08 (To Be Determined) East Husker GBB Tournament TBA
02/13/20 North Bend Central
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