Published: April 28, 2009 10:01 am      

Cordell, West feel pride for McBath

By DARIN ALLRED

Register Sports Editor

When Gainesville’s Darcel McBath was selected in the second round of the National Football League Draft Saturday, he and his family weren’t the only ones who felt proud.

Many others who watched McBath grow up in Gainesville felt a sense of pride and excitement for the latest former Leopard to move on to the NFL.

McBath was a part of the 2003 Gainesville Leopards football team that won the Class 3A Division I State Championship, defeating Burnet in the championship game at Texas Stadium. Ironically, Stephen McGee, the quarterback of that Burnet team, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys Sunday.

Jeff Cordell was the head coach of the Leopards that year. It was his first year as head coach after serving as defensive coordinator under Mark Copeland before that. The Leopards went 15-0 that season and won the school’s first-ever State championship in football.

Cordell, who is currently the head coach at Andrews High School near Odessa, watched the Draft with special interest and says he is happy for his former player.

“I am extremely excited for him,” Cordell said of McBath. “I basically got to watch him grow up when I was in Gainesville. He is a good kid with a great work ethic. We knew back then he had a lot of talent.”

For Cordell and other coaches that worked with McBath, it’s especially satisfying to see their former player realize his dream of playing professional football. In fact, Cordell says that Darcel is the first former player of his to get drafted.

“I was talking with (former GHS defensive coordinator) Patrick Harvell the other day and we were talking about Darcel and how gifted he was even back then,” Cordell said. “It’s a pretty proud moment for us.”

Recently, Cordell found a photo from the State championship game in 2003 that shows McBath holding one of the coach’s sons after the game.

“That’s pretty neat and I’m glad I still have that,” he said.

Cordell also admits that he went out and purchased a Denver Broncos hat after receiving word that his former player was headed to Colorado.

McBath, like thousands of other Gainesville children throughout the years, spent lots of time at the Boys and Girls Club. For the staff of the Boys Club, it was a special moment to watch one of their own get drafted.

“We were all thrilled,” said Tricia West, the executive director of the facility. “I’ve never listened to the draft before in my life, but I was listening Saturday. He (McBath) has worked so hard to get to this point and he always has that smile.”

West said that McBath, who has worked at the Boys and Girls Club in the past, stopped by recently to autograph some footballs.

McBath will head to Denver this weekend for mini-camp with the Broncos.