AA football: Pack puts away Spartans

Glacier running back Kobe Dorcheus (33) celebrates with teammates after a 21-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley (12) drops back to pass in the second quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier's Kash Goicoechea (6) returns a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier running back Kobe Dorcheus (33) scores a touchdown on a 21-yard reception in the fourth quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier head coach Grady Bennett congratulates Bridger Smith (5) and TJ Gannon (62) after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier wide receiver Cohen Kastelitz (1) catches a 75-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier wide receiver Evan Barnes (8) pulls in a long reception in the first quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier defensive lineman Isaac Keim (9) sacks Missoula Sentinel quarterback Danny Sirmon (3) in the first quarter of the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier defenders Henry Sellards (66), Aiden Krause (79) and Isaac Keim (9) celebrate after Keim's sack in the first quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier kicker Rhett Measure (11) kicks a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier offensive line coach Connor Fuller celebrates with Henry Sellards (66) after a touchdown in the third quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Glacier wide receiver Kole Johnson (4) celebrates in the end zone with teammates after a touchdown reception in the third quarter against Missoula Sentinel in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs at Legends Stadium on Friday, Nov. 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

by FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Daily Inter Lake | November 3, 2023 11:17 PM

The Sentinel Spartans brought more puzzles to solve for the Glacier Wolfpack Friday, but in the end — thanks to four second-half touchdown passes by Jackson Presley — the hosts prevailed 46-12.

Presley threw for 200 of his 311 yards after halftime and Kobe Dorcheus scored three TDs as Glacier, 9-1, moved onto the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and the second time since 2016. The Wolfpack will bring Gallatin into Legends Stadium for another Friday 7 p.m. tilt.

The Raptors (9-1) beat Helena 40-6 in another quarterfinal game.

It was also the second time Glacier played Sentinel in the last two weeks; the Pack had a bye through the AA play-in games. Friday marked back-to-back wins over the Spartans who, it can be mentioned, beat Glacier 42-21 in the semis on the way to their 2021 title.

“I’d lost to them three times in two years,” senior tackle Henry Sellards said. “So it’s great to beat them twice in one year. Really big for us.”

The lopsided score belies the work Glacier had to put in to put away the 6-5 Spartans, who put 6-foot-6 Danny Sirmon at quarterback and, one week after running over Great Falls High, had him throw the ball all over the field.

By halftime he had 144 passing yards, with 96 of them going to Grady Walker — including a 39-yard touchdown that narrowed Glacier’s lead to 14-12 with 8:44 left in the first half.

When the Spartans pooched the ensuing kickoff and recovered at the Glacier 30-yard line, things were looking tense.

But the Wolfpack — namely Justin Timlick, Kole Johnson, Sellards and Jaden Dannic — got Sentinel to turn it over on downs. Then they marched to a 27-yard Rhett Measure field goal and a 17-12 halftime lead.

“They get the onside kick, and our defense comes out and gets a four-and-out,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “That sequence was, to me, the championship effort that got us to the next game, the semifinals.”

The second half was all Wolfpack, starting with the kickoff: Sentinel, which had already seen Kash Goicoechea take one back 89 yards for a touchdown, booted the ball to him again.

He returned it 61 yards to the Sentinel 25-yard line, and on the next play Presley threw a flea-flicker pass to Johnson for the score.

Goicoechea then ran in the 2-point PAT for a 25-12 lead.

Sentinel’s next possession ended at downs at the Wolfpack 25 and again, it took Glacier one play to score: Presley found Cohen Kastelitz for 75 yards and a 32-12 lead.

Meanwhile the Sirmon-to-Walker connection was less deadly. Alex Hausmann picked off two passes.

“We were ready for the run game, worked on it all week, and they came out throwing it,” Bennett said. “It took us a little bit to completely settle in.

“Once we started doubling Grady, that was the answer. That’s really all we could do. We put two guys on him and got a couple interceptions there.”

After the first the Wolfpack drove 80 yards, ending with a 17-yard middle screen to Dorcheus — a wrinkle of their own.

“The first time it didn’t work,” said Dorcheus, who rode blocks from TJ Gannon, Aiden Krause and Ben Winters to the TD. “I don’t know what happened. The second time I waited a little bit longer, was a little more patient, popped it up through the middle and busted it wide open.”

In the fourth quarter Dorcheus caught a swing pass and, getting a sealing block from Kastelitz, scored from 20 yards out.

“I saw that. Come on now,” said Dorcheus, whose 3-yard run opened the scoring. “(Kastelitz) is an awesome blocker. He gets about three pancakes a game on average.”

He also caught six passes for 123 yards.

Walker finished with 12 catches for 136 yards. Sirmon ran for 5 yards and there for 194.

“Danny and Grady Walker were warriors tonight. They’re going to be great Montana Grizzlies,” Bennett said. “It was a slugfest, a knock-down dragout.

“I’m so proud of our kids, because we lost a couple tough ones down to Missoula to these guys, in the quarters and the semis. It’s nice to beat the Sentinel Spartans up here.”

Sentinel 6 6 0 0 - 12

Glacier 14 3 22 7 - 46

G — Kobe Dorcheus 3 run (Rhett Measure kick), 7:09-1Q

S — Ryan Haidle 1 run (pass failed), 2:30-1Q

G — Kash Goicoechea 89 kickoff return (Measure kick), 2:18-1Q

S — Grady Walker 39 pass from Danny Sirmon (pass failed), 8:44-2Q

G — Measure 27 FG, 1:03-2Q

G — Kole Johnson 25 pass from Jackson Presley (Goicoechea run), 11:39-3Q

G — Cohen Kastelitz 75 pass from Presley (Measure kick), 8:11-3Q

G — Dorcheus 17 pass from Presley (Measure kick), 2:03-3Q

G — Dorcheus 21 pass from Presley (Measure kick), 6:13-4Q

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Sentinel (32-80) — Sirmon 13-25, Rudy Hess 2-20, Hunter Sellers 1-10, Haidle 5-9, Brady Whitman 9-8, Sam Matosich 1-8, Aiden Erickson 1-0. Glacier (20-58): Dorcheus 12-44, Goicoechea 4-11, Isaac Keim 1-2, Presley 3-1.

PASSING: Sentinel — Sirmon 19-34-2 for 194 yards. Glacier — Presley 17-23-0 for 311 yards.

RECEIVING: Sentinel — Walker 12-136, Matosich 4-22, Easton Reimers 1-17, Haidle 1-134, Kyler Haslam 1-6. Glacier — Kastelitz 6-123, Dorcheus 3-43, Johnson 2-61, Barnes 1-47, Alex Hausmann 1-12, Goicoecheau 1-9, Brayden Smith 1-7, Measure 1-7, Van Scholten 1-2.

Gallatin 40, Helena 6

BOZEMAN — Quinn Clark scored three touchdowns, including an 85-yard reception that put Gallatin ahead for good, and the Raptors rolled into the AA semifinals.

Helena took a 6-0 lead — the Bengals punted and got the ball deep in Raptor territory when the ball touched a Gallatin player, setting up a Carter Kraft touchdown run — only to see the Raptors score game’s final 40 points.

Grant Vigen threw both of his TD passes to Clark, the last covering 6 yards with less than a minute left in the game. Clark also had a 3-yard scoring run.

Wesley Donaghy added two scoring runs, sandwiched around a successful Gallatin onside kick, as the game got away in the fourth quarter. Reese Dahlke added a 56-yard run that put the Raptors up 13-6 in the second quarter, and the score stayed there Clark’s TD off a jet sweep with 2:36 left in the third quarter.