Don McGatlin’s commute to his new job at Class 1A Miami- Yoder High School, about 7 miles one way, is the perfect distance for a ride – in his case, a horse ride.
McGatlin, a two-time state champion coach at Green Mountain, left behind his ranch near Lakewood this week for a more expansive, 1920s-era spread near Rush, about 40 miles east of Colorado Springs. Before he could settle in to his new digs, McGatlin had taken over coaching duties at Miami-Yoder.
“I just stopped in to the school and talked to the secretary and they called me back a couple of weeks later,” McGatlin said of his hiring process. “It’s perfect for me. I can run my horse straight into the field. And I love the little school. These are great kids, nice young men. And it means even more in this small town.
“I don’t want to let them down.”
Big-city development chased McGatlin from Jefferson County, but it couldn’t knock the football from his hands. McGatlin will lead a Miami-Yoder team that may start the season with a roster 18 players deep, though the number may jump to 26.
“That guy could make fun of jacks,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer said of McGatlin. “They found a diamond in the rough at Miami-Yoder. Talk to any kid that ever played for him, they love him.”
McGatlin also is coaching the middle school team.
“Building ’em up from the ground up,” he said.
And the coach seems to fit in at Miami-Yoder. When describing junior fullback Jeremy Dole, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound “rancher kid,” McGatlin sang the player’s praises with his own brand of hyperbole: “I’ve never seen anybody throw hay like that kid.”
At Miami-Yoder, McGatlin will have help. His assistant coach in charge of defensive backs is former NFL safety Clarence Vaughn, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins who played in the league from 1987-92.
Vaughn is at least the third Super Bowl veteran now coaching high school football in Colorado, joining former Broncos stars John Elway (Cherry Creek) and Louis Wright (Rangeview).
But McGatlin and the Buffaloes have a tough task. To make the playoffs, the Buffs will need to knock off some stalwarts in the South Central League, including Burlington, a classification favorite; Limon, one of the fastest, most storied teams in 1A; and Byers, a skilled group of seniors with talent all around.
The North Central League has two of the best teams in the state in defending runner-up Lyons and Eastern Plains standout Wray. And that’s without mentioning the clear-cut 1A favorite Akron, the defending champion. Add Lutheran, a 2006 postseason qualifier, and Highland, the team most noted by other coaches as having Cinderella potential, and the North Central is tough top to bottom.
On the Western Slope, Hayden plans to thrive with running back Coy Letlow, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards last season. Grand Valley will be right behind.
The seven-team Southern Peaks Conference has an entirely new look, with four new head coaches. Dolores, a back-to- back semifinalist in 2004 and 2005, again will be a team to watch, with Sanford, Sargent, Ignacio and Del Norte also planning to contend.
In the Santa Fe, Custer County will have to hold off Rocky Ford and Rye.
