League of their own

Kobe Dorcheus has faced challenges all his life.

Dorcheus was born in Haiti and made his way to Montana at the age of 2 after being adopted by Kristi and Nathan Dorcheus. Kobe says he found his love for football on the flight to his new home. 

“We were flying home and the first game I saw was the New England Patriots against Miami,” Dorcheus said. “Ever since then I just loved football.” 

The Patriots — or the Flags as he initially called them — stayed close to Dorcheus’ heart also. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and especially Julian Edelman helped to shape Dorcheus early into the player he is now. 

“The adversity, (Edelman) was just getting moved around and moved around, but he just kept grinding and playing football,” Dorcheus said. 

For the Wolfpack Dorcheus does his own grinding, powering his way to the top of AA running backs with 1,267 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns (20 on the ground). His speed isn’t to be messed with either, he has carries of 80 and 95 yards this season. 

Dorcheus already has surpassed the yards (1054) and touchdowns (16) he had as an All-State selection his junior year. 

His production has him as one of the top candidates for Gatorade Player of the Year, but that isn’t a concern for him. 

“He truly doesn’t care,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “It’s about the team. It’s about what we do and how everybody else is doing. He just wants the team to win and the team to play well.” 

All season Dorcheus has been adamant that he couldn’t put up these numbers without his offensive line. A line that featured four All-State selections a year ago, but returned one for 2024 — Ben Winters. 

“All of a sudden you are playing in front of four young guys, that have never played before,” Bennett said. “He, from day one, let them know he believed in them. Gave them the confidence, has supported them and built them up after every game. I believe that’s why they play so well, because they have somebody who trusts them.” 

Dorcheus says that his connection with the offensive line is just as strong off the field as it is on. 

“It’s awesome, we have our own fantasy league for football and we have our group chat,” Dorcheus said. “We text each other and make sure we do our scouting reports and make sure we do our film. We are just really close together; I don’t think there is any of us who don’t like each other. We are just really tight.” 

The relationship in the backfield with quarterback Jackson Presley is just as close. 

“Every day we see each other we are saying something new, something we have seen from TikTok,” Dorcheus said. “Just joking around with each other and making sure we say high to each other in the halls. We always hype each other up.” 

Bennett praises Dorcheus leadership and character inside of the team as well. 

“He leads in the right way,” Bennett said. “He’s not afraid to step out and take the courage to lead when he has to ... Kobe has realized that sometimes leaders have to say something. Even though you may not be the most vocal guy, good leaders do step up when they need to.” 

“I just like to lead by example and be positive,” Dorcheus said. “Even when I'm not positive, I just make sure I cheer up and cheer up my teammates.” 

Dorcheus and the Wolfpack look to keep this season going Friday at 7 p.m. as Glacier hosts Butte in the quarterfinals of the Class AA football playoffs. 

As for after his senior season Dorcheus plans to play college football, he just isn’t sure where. 

Dorcheus noted that his top three choices at this point are Montana State, Rocky Mountain College and Montana Tech, but that no decision is expected until after the Wolfpack’s season wraps up. 

    Glacier running back Kobe Dorcheus (33) looks for running room in the first quarter against Missoula Hellgate at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 27. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider