MAY – After 20 years and four trips to the UIL Class A Division I state championship game, May head football coach Craig Steele is leaving the program he turned into a perennial powerhouse for the same position at Borden County.

“Last night I was approved by the school board at Borden County to be the head football coach for the next season,” Steele said in a Wednesday morning interview with BrownwoodNews.com. “Both of my kids look like they’re going to wind up at Texas Tech as they move forward in life, and me and my wife felt like we wanted to be closer to them. The Lord opened doors at the right time and it all came together.”

Steele and his wife Natalie have two children – daughter Brianna, who currently attends Tarleton and was a standout athlete and cheerleader during her years at May; and son Braden, whose sports year ended in the fall with a torn ACL in the Tigers’ playoff game against Leverett’s Chapel. Braden will be a senior next school year.

“It’s unbelievably hard to walk away from May,” Steele said. “It’s the hardest thing I have ever done. It’s an outstanding community, the best place ever to raise our kids. The Lord has blessed us so many times over here. It’s extremely difficult.”

Steele has spent his entire career as a head coach at May, where the Tigers reached the state final in 2013, 2014, 2020 and 2021. Each year, the Tigers fell one victory shy of adding the program’s second state championship and first since 1977.

The Tigers played in 240 games in 20 seasons under Steele, an average of 12 per campaign, and posted a 175-65 record, an average of 9 victories each year.

“It’s been great, and when I talked to the kids I told them this wasn’t a me thing,” Steele said. “This is a perfect storm with the community support, administrative support, the coaching staff, it was never a one-man show. It was always a collaborative effort and it can still be that. I wish nothing but the best for these kids here and I’ll be rooting for them. I love the kids here, they’re great kids.”

Steele added he would do all in his power to assist May in its transition to seeking a new head football coach.

Reflecting on what he will cherish most about his 20-year stint at May, Steele said, “The feeling of belonging this community gives you and the love that’s poured out to your family when you live here. It’s a place like no other and it’s hard to leave it.”