Honoring his dad
Football helps Dorsey cope with loss
Hunter Dorsey wore a different jersey number last Friday at Pea Ridge.
The switch from No. 44 to No. 74 was necessary because of what was being asked out of the Siloam Springs senior, who was having to fill in on the offensive line as well as play linebacker and some defensive line. Football rules state that offensive lineman must wear a number between 50-79.
But No. 74 is no ordinary number to the Dorsey family. It’s the number Hunter Dorsey’s late father, Ross Dorsey, wore during his playing days at Siloam Springs.
Hunter Dorsey said he felt inspired while wearing the number as Siloam Springs defeated Pea Ridge 55-21 at Blackhawk Stadium for the Panthers’ first victory of the season.
“I just felt like it enhanced my playing really,” Hunter Dorsey said with a smile on his face after the game. “I just felt better playing today. Being on offense, (my dad) played offense. I feel like it helped me mentally.”
Losing a father
There’s no doubt the last year has been difficult for Hunter Dorsey, his family and anyone who knew Ross Dorsey, who tragically passed away from a sudden heart attack this past Christmas Day. Ross Dorsey was 49 years old, just a couple of weeks shy of his 50th birthday.
It was a loss that stunned the Siloam Springs community and Panther football family.
“When I think back to it, it was one of those moments where I couldn’t believe what I was finding out,” said Siloam Springs head coach Brandon Craig. “I had known his dad personally. He was just a guy like one of us, just a guy that was there to support his son, be a father. You don’t expect stuff like that. It was a real tragedy.”
Ross Dorsey was very active in local sports in the Siloam Springs community. He served as a coach for youth teams and also as a referee at the Boys &
Girls Club and in local adult leagues. But he was especially involved with his kids, attending football, soccer and volleyball games, serving as the public address announcer for Siloam Springs soccer and working in the press box.
For Hunter Dorsey, in particular, his dad was always there as a sounding board to talk football.
“We always talked about how the team was doing, how I’m doing on the field, what’s going on with football,” Hunter
Dorsey said. “That’s one of our big things, one of our big connections — football — because he played.”
Hunter Dorsey said his dad would often give him helpful tips and tricks that he used when he played as a lineman for the Panthers. Ross Dorsey graduated from Siloam Springs in 1988.
Hunter Dorsey there’s definitely a void there now without his dad.
“It’s very weird,” he said. “It’s not something you can describe. It’s something you
feel. It’s like there’s an emptiness really, an absence of something that you need.”
The healing process
Football has been a big help in dealing with the loss, Hunter Dorsey said.
His football family at Siloam Springs — coaches and teammates — have rallied around him over the last several months and will continue to do so.
Craig said he and his coaching staff wanted to make sure Hunter Dorsey knew they were there to support him anytime he needs them.
“Bottom line is if there’s anything you need, you never hesitate to call,” Craig said. “You always make sure that you understand that you have us as a coaching staff there for you. All of us care about you and want to see you go through and have a great life. We’ll do everything we can to help you and continue to do that.”
Dorsey said linebackers coach Tony Coffey and longtime Siloam Springs assistant football coach Dwain Pippin have been extremely helpful.
“Coach Coffey was definitely one of the biggest people to help me through it,” Dorsey said. “If I needed something, he was there for me. If I needed to talk, he was always there. He told me, ‘If it was 2 a.m., if I need somebody to talk to, I’ll answer.’”
Coffey had a unique perspective on the father-son dynamic and wanted to make sure Dorsey had the support he needed.
“I couldn’t imagine what it would be like with your dad who’s there with you all the time and (now) he’s gone,” Coffey said. “I, unfortunately, did not have that. My dad lived in Oklahoma and I lived in Ohio, and I didn’t have that. My mom’s second husband, I wasn’t close to him. I didn’t have that there. I can only imagine losing that support. … When I heard what had happened, it crushed me.”
Pippin coached Dorsey in junior high and was Dorsey’s defensive line coach as a sophomore in 2018 before moving to the junior high staff full-time. He’s been happy to be there for his former player.
“Being able to help in any way a young person that’s going through a lot of life changes and traumatic events like this just makes you confirm what you’re doing,” Pippin said. “It’s not me. It’s just the process of rallying around a kid and being a mentor to a kid in that situation and letting them know they’re not alone. I just feel like that’s a coach’s job.”
Dorsey said several of his former and current teammates have also done a good job of checking up on him.
“My teammates, they always ask me how I’m doing, if I’m having a tough day,” he said. “They have my back and say keep going.”
Playing lots of roles
Hunter Dorsey has shown himself to be adaptable in his football career at Siloam Springs.
After playing a lot of linebacker in junior high, he moved to defensive line as a sophomore where he saw quite a bit of playing time and helped the Panthers make the Class 6A playoffs in 2018.
In the offseason, he wound up losing a lot of weight, trimming down to around 210 pounds, and was moved to inside linebacker.
“We were shorthanded at linebacker last year,” Craig said. “He was a defensive lineman. He had lost a lot of weight. He’d gotten himself a lot quicker. We knew he had good football instincts, so we took a chance and moved him to linebacker and he really had a good season. He learned a lot and grew into the position and grew to understand what we were asking of our linebacking corps.”
Dorsey wound up tied for second on the team with 94 total tackles as the Panthers advanced to the Class 6A quarterfinals.
“He stepped in and did a great job at it last year,” Coffey said. “Our Mike linebacker is somebody who’s got to be willing to come in. We call them plugger. You’ve got to be a plugger. He’s able to do that. We thought he could do it pretty well because coming from a defensive line position he’s used to coming down and filling those gaps. We thought he could do it pretty well and he did.
“You know, Hunter’s not the fastest guy on the field and we don’t ask him to be the fastest guy on the field. We just ask him to be at the right place at the right time, trust your eyes, see what you see and go.”
Coffey said linebackers need to be leaders of the defense.
“We have to be vocal and we have to communicate with everyone out there,” Coffey said. “That’s what I ask out of Hunter and he does a good job at it.”
Dorsey’s primary position is linebacker but he can also put his hand on the ground and play some defensive line as well. In two games in the 2020 season, he’s recorded 13 total tackles and three tackles for loss.
Because of covid-19 concerns to a starter on the offensive line last week, the Panthers needed him to help in on the O-line as well. That’s why he had to change jersey numbers, and he’ll remain No. 74 for the rest of the season, Craig said.
“He’s going to work extremely hard and be committed to the team,” Craig said. “He has all the qualities you really enjoy as a coach.”
There’s a particular photo Tammi Dorsey just loves. It’s a framed photo of a her son, young Hunter Dorsey, playing football for the Boys & Girls, wearing jersey No. 74 with Dorsey on the back, and her late husband Ross Dorsey with his hands on his son’s shoulder.
“It’s my favorite picture,” Tammi Dorsey said.
Hunter Dorsey remembers the exact moment of the photo.
“I remember that exact thing,” Hunter Dorsey said. “I was on defense. He was teaching me how to get through the O-line. I was too high and he was trying to tell me to get low, be physical with them, get your hands on them, and use them instead of letting them use you.”
Coffey replied to Hunter Dorsey’s description of the moment, “Sounds familiar.”
Coffey and Hunter Dorsey both laughed at the moment. It’s likely Ross Dorsey would have chuckled too.
“He had his own sense of humor that everybody got, you know?” Hunter Dorsey said.
Siloam Springs will honor its senior football players Friday night as the Panthers host longtime rival Harrison. Senior night festivities at Panther Stadium begin around 6:30 p.m.
There will be a noticeable absence when Hunter Dorsey is recognized, but he said it won’t be a time for him to feel sorry for himself. And his dad wouldn’t want that anyway — not on a football Friday night.
“We have time to grieve, but then we have time where we need to step up and do what we need to do,” Hunter Dorsey said. “There are times for both, and this time right now is when we need to step up and get our work done.”