Wolfpack shut down Butte, now 3-0

Glacier wide receiver Ethan Anderson (37) catches a 49-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier running back Kobe Dorcheus (33) scores a touchdown on a 65-yard run in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier wide receiver Cooper Pelc (8) catches a 40-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley (12) drops back to pass in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier linebacker Asher Knopik (11) celebrates after a sack of Butte quarterback Colton Shea (5) in the first quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier head coach Grady Bennett congratulates quarterback Jackson Presley (12) after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cooper Pelc in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier defensive lineman William Astle (56) celebrates after sacking Butte quarterback Colton Shea (5) in the second quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier running back Asher Knopik (11) picks up yardage on a run in the second quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier defensive lineman Wayne Cox (52) celebrates with teammates after an interception in the first quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier punt returner Easton Kauffman (19) returns a punt into Butte territory in the first half at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley (12) runs for an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter against Butte at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

Glacier linebacker Asher Knopik (11) sacks Butte quarterback Colton Shea (5) in the first quarter at Legends Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

by JON ALLEN
Staff Writer | September 14, 2024 12:00 AM

No comeback this time.

Kobe Dorcheus ran for three touchdowns and quarterback Jackson Presley threw for three more as Glacier dominated the first half against Butte en route to a 49-14 victory Friday at Legends Stadium.

Presley finished 12-for-14 through the air with the three scores and one interception. He added 14 yards and another touchdown on the ground in two carries.

“I’m thankful for all the players on this team,” Presley said. “My receivers make me look good, my linemen block for me and it makes my job so much easier.

“We executed the gameplan really well, we came out Monday ready just to get after it. We knew what happened last year, but we didn’t want that to phase the way we played.”

The Wolfpack improved to 3-0 on the season, while Butte — which handed the Pack a painful 28-27 loss last season — dropped to 0-3.

Dorcheus picked up right where he left off against Billings Senior, taking Glacier’s first offensive play 65 yards to the house.

On the second possession Dorcheus added his second score from 2 yards out on a direct snap and the Wolfpack led 14-0 just over three minutes in.

After a 56-yard punt return from Easton Kauffman, Presley found Mark Ahner for a 5-yard touchdown halfway through the quarter. Next possession he completed a deep ball to Cooper Pelc for 40 yards and a score to make it 28-0 Glacier after the first quarter.

“I knew he was going to do great things tonight,” Bennett said of Presley. “He was on point, he was focused and made some great throws.”

Presley threw his third touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter, finding Ethan Anderson for 49 yards. He tacked on an 11-yard scamper late in the quarter to give the Wolfpack a 42-0 halftime lead.

Out of the break Glacier kept their foot on the gas on the first drive, going 55 yards in three plays, capped off by a Dorcheus 3-yard run.

“We executed in all three phases,” coach Grady Bennett said. “The gameplan by the coordinators was brilliant and the kids went out and executed perfectly.”

Both Ahner and Bigfork transfer Asher Knopik played big parts on both sides of the ball, Ahner led the team with eight tackles — including three tackles for loss.

Knopik added five tackles and one of Glacier’s three sacks; he also had one carry on offense for 8 yards and made some key blocks.

“It was hard at first getting to know everyone, getting to know the system,” Knopik said. “I worked really hard, and with these guys it made it a lot easier and to finally be in the season, win against good teams. I can’t put it into words, it’s awesome.”

Butte got its offense rolling in the third quarter, but it was too late.

Colton Shea found Tocher Lee for a 10-yard reception to break the shutout after an 11-play, 62-yard drive. The Bulldogs added another touchdown shortly after as Shea found Hudson Luedtke from 11 yards out to cap the scoring

Shea finished 26-for-38 with 234 yards and Luedtke racked up 109 yards on 11 catches.

Glacier now heads on the road to take on Helena High on Friday at 7 p.m.

Butte 0 0 14 0 - 14

Glacier 28 14 7 0 - 49

G — Kobe Dorcheus 65 run (Kyle Smith kick), 11:02 1Q

G — Dorcheus 2 run (Smith kick), 8:43 1Q

G — Mark Ahner 5 pass from Jackson Presley (Smith kick), 6:14-1Q

G — Cooper Pelc 40 pass from Presley (Smith kick), 2:57-1Q

G — Ethan Anderson 49 pass from Presley (Smith kick), 5:27-2Q

G — Presley 11 run (Smith kick), 1:15-2Q

G — Dorcheus 3 run (Smith kick) 9:59-3Q

B — Tocher Lee 10 pass from Colton Shea (Bradley Doyle kick) 4:29-3Q

B — Hudson Luedtke 11 pass from Shea (Doyle kick) 1:14-3Q

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: Butte (23-30) — Karson Pumnea 11-30, Hudson Luedtke 1-12, Burke McGruder 3-8, Colton Shea 8- minus 7. Glacier (21-185) — Kobe Dorcheus 11-136, Carson Baker 2-16, Jackson Presley 2-14, Chase Chaffin 3-11, Asher Knopik 1-8, Eli Imperato 2- minus 1.

PASSING: Butte — Colton Shea 26-38-1 for 234 yards. Glacier — Jackson Presley 12-14-1 for 241 yards, Bridger Smith 1-1-0 for 14 yards.

RECEIVING: Butte — Hudson Luedtke 11-109, Tocher Lee 8-72, Sam Sampson 3-27, Karsen McEwen 1-9, Karson Pumnea 1-8, Cayde Stajcar 1-5, Gavin Rowe 1-4. Glacier — Bridger Smith 4-52, Ethan Anderson 3-89, Cooper Pelc 2-79, Kobe Dorcheus 2-16, Easton Kauffman 1-14, Mark Ahner 1-5.