Wolfpack runs past Braves in 2nd half

Kobe Dorcheus, the junior half of Glacier’s running back tandem, was a tough tackle on Thursday night in the Wolfpack’s 42-6 Crosstown win over Flathead.

Having 6-foot-5 blockers in front doesn’t make it easier, and after Dorcheus ran for 146 yards and two second-half touchdowns, offensive tackle Henry Sellards easily spotted the 5-10 running back in front of the Glacier student section.

“He’ll do his backflip and be right over,” Sellards said.

Glacier needed those tough yards. Dorcheus’ 13-yard touchdown started the running clock with 6 minutes left, clinching Glacier’s fifth straight victory in this intracity series. But the Pack led just 14-6 at halftime and it might have been closer, had a scintillating 75-yard punt return by the Braves’ Jordan Griffin late in the half not been called by back two holding calls.

If there was a key play in the game, it came on second-and-8 on Glacier’s first drive after intermission: Dorcheus swept around the left side, following Sellards. The duo picked up 27 yards, crossing midfield in tandem.

“It was a toss,” Sellards said. “I mean shoot, I haven’t done one of those plays in a while.”

“We saw it worked in the first half, and were like, ‘Why not do it again?’” Dorcheus said. “Every single play I’m running behind Henry — he finds people, and we just work so well together.

“He always comes out and plays his hardest. I love Henry.”

Two plays later the junior crashed in front 14 yards out for a 21-6 Wolfpack lead.

The gap grew 28-6 when, after Flathead turned the ball over downs near midfield, Jackson Presley and Cohen Kastelitz hooked up on a 52-yard catch and run at 5:10 of the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter Presley threw his third TD pass, a 3-yard flip to Alex Hausmann, for a 35-6 lead.

Flathead was impressive early, forcing a punt on Glacier’s first possession and driving 74 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. Some option runs out of an offset I-formation found big room, including gains of 18 and 8 yards by Braden Capser — the latter for the score.

Also key was a scrambling 29-yard completion from Kaleb Sims to Stephen Riley.

Meanwhile, with a couple notable exceptions — a 35-yard touchdown to Evan Barnes, and a 50-yard bomb to Kastelitz on the game’s first snap that was called back — Flathead was sticking with the Pack receivers.

“There’s a lot to be proud of and a lot to clean up,” Flathead coach Caleb Aland said. “I was really proud of how our guys came out in the game. I felt we played about as clean a first half as we could.

“I kind of preached to them early on that we would be in the game at halftime, and everybody was going to be surprised but us.”

“They’ve played everybody really tough the first half,” Bennett said. “I thought they had a great game plan on both sides of the ball. They did some things we weren’t really ready for. Just good stuff.”

Between Flathead’s D and Glacier’s 56-0 win over Helena Capital — “Where everything goes your way,” Bennett said — Thursday’s start might have been predictable.

“Our guys at halftime just had to settle down a little bit,” Bennett said. “We tried to explain to them, Capital just imploded. I mean, eight turnovers. That’s not going to happen every game, against anybody.

“We relied on our big boys in the second half and gave the ball to our two big backs.”

Kash Goicoechea, whose 8-yard run put Glacier up for good in the first quarter, had 63 yards on eight carries. Presley had a 16-yard run to go with his 11 of 21 passing for 206 yards.

Kastelitz had 107 yards on four catches, and Dorcheus pretty much did the rest.

“He runs so hard every play,” Sellards said. “I’m so proud of him, watching him come from sophomore and freshman year to varsity. It’s awesome.”

Flathead 6 0 0 0 - 6

Glacier 7 7 14 14 - 42

F — Braden Capser 8 run (kick failed), 5:32-1Q

G — Kash Goicoechea 4 run (Rhett Measure kick), 3:32-1Q

G — Evan Barnes 35 pass from Jackson Presley (Measure kick), 4:41-2Q

G — Kobe Dorcheus 14 run (Measure kick), 9:05-3Q

G — Cohen Kastelitz 52 pass from Presley (Measure kick), 5:10-3Q

G — Alex Hausmann 3 pass from Presley (Measure kick), 10:45-4Q

G — Dorcheus 13 run (Measure kick), 6:00-4Q

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Flathead (25-54) — Capser 2-26, Brett Pesola 5-16, Jaden Williams 8-12, Jrdaon Griffin 1-11, Stephen Riley 2-1, Kaleb Sims 1-minus 3, Ben Bliven 3-minus 4, Nolan Campbell 3-minus 5. Glacier (31-249) — Dorcheus 16-146, Goicoechea 8-63, Isaac Ritter 4-18, Presley 1-16, Kaleb Shine 1-4, Isaac Keim 1-2.

PASSING: Flathead — Pesola 8-14-1 for 65 yards; Sims 3-6-0 for 38 yards. Glacier — Presley 11-21-0 for 206 yards.

RECEIVING: Flathead — Noah Sonjue 3-39, Bliven 3-24, Casper 3-10, Stephen Riley 1-29, Williams 1-1. Glacier — Kastelitz 4-107, Kole Johnson 2-51, Evan Barnes 2-46, Alex Hausmann 1-3, Goicoechea 1-2, Measure 1-minus 3.