{"id":433863,"date":"2026-09-12T12:10:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T12:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/433863\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T12:10:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T12:10:29","slug":"scs-head-coach-steve-wood-embraces-private-school-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/433863\/","title":{"rendered":"SCS head coach Steve Wood embraces private school football"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fort<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Southwest Christian head coach Steve Wood speaks to his team after a game against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Country Day.<\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly<\/p>\n

Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

FORT WORTH<\/p>\n

For Aledo legend Steve Wood, coaching a TAPPS Division II private school is certainly a change of scenery from his time with the Bearcats.<\/p>\n

The majority of his tenure with Aledo was spent as an athletic director, but he did coach Title Town from 2014 to 2019, posting an 75-4 overall record and winning three Class 5A Division II state championships. When he retired in 2023, he had a career in public school athletics rivaling the nation\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t need to continue, but he wanted to. Ahead of the 2026 season, Southwest Christian announced stunning news: Wood was returning to the sidelines<\/a> to coach Eagle football.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been wonderful,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThey\u2019re great kids. It\u2019s just a great place. It\u2019s unique. It\u2019s different than anything I\u2019ve ever done in my life. But I\u2019m enjoying it, and I\u2019m having fun getting to coach ball and be around great people. It\u2019s sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Southwest Southwest Christian football takes the field after halftime in a game against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

The job for Wood remains the same: Put the team in the best position to win football games. At the same time, Wood said there is great personal satisfaction and fulfillment in leading a faith-based, Christian school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids are taught Bible classes daily, and we pray daily, and we are expected to lead by Christian example for them and help grow them to be servants of God,\u201d Wood said. “They\u2019re great kids. They work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Southwest Southwest Christian football players celebrate a victory over Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

On Thursday, Southwest Christian captured an 24-14 win over Fort Worth Country Day, improving to 3-1 on the season. After congratulating the team for a gritty performance, he led a postgame prayer \u2014 that\u2019s actually a common sight in both public and private school football.<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Southwest Christian head coach Steve Wood leads his team in a prayer after a win over Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

The main difference is private schools can incorporate faith in everything: classes, assemblies, schoolwide prayer and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come to one of our chapels, you\u2019ll have [hundreds of] kids, and you can hear a pin drop,\u201d Wood said. \u201cYou can just feel the Holy Spirit moving through the whole place. It\u2019s very gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building Eagle football<\/p>\n

When SCS hired a championship-caliber coach, it invested in its football program with the hopes of attracting talent and, eventually, building a program that can compete among TAPPS best.<\/p>\n

\"Southwest Southwest Christian quarterback Elijah Hufstetler looks downfield against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

The success won\u2019t happen overnight; the Eagles posted a 6-5 overall and 1-4 district record last season. The year ended with a four-game losing streak and a 62-2 loss to Austin Regents.<\/p>\n

Wood said the squad has been moving in the right direction since he took over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to be good,\u201d Wood said. \u201c… We haven\u2019t arrived yet, but it\u2019s been a great experience. … I think they should be proud right now. I\u2019m proud of them. They\u2019re competing. … We\u2019ve got a long way to go, but we\u2019re having fun. We\u2019re practicing hard, and we come out and do the best we can. And that\u2019s really all you can ask out of anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Southwest Christian receiver Crosby Pipes races to the end zone for a touchdown in a victory over Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Sophomore wide receiver Crosby Pipes said with Wood at the helm, the team is more \u201cexcited to play football.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is more positive this year,\u201d Pipes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a whole new playbook. We pass the ball more. We get people to the ball, and I think people just come ready to work, and they\u2019re actually enthusiastic for the game. [Wood] gets to know everyone on a personal level. Every single player. He doesn\u2019t just know you as a player. He knows you as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competing with Fort Worth-area powers<\/p>\n

Southwest Christian is Texas Private School Media\u2019s<\/a> No. 7 squad in Division II. Fort Worth All Saints is No. 1, and Fort Worth Christian comes in at No. 6.<\/p>\n

All Saints has become the gold standard<\/a> in TAPPS Division II and, arguably, the entire private school realm. The Saints are favored to win three consecutive state championships this season led by head coach Aaron Beck.<\/p>\n

The Saints\u2019 dominance makes winning district a very lofty goal for SCS. Still, there are ways to improve and find success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to compete,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I want to do. It\u2019ll be tough. It\u2019s a great district. There\u2019s good football teams every week. I want to know our kids are going to go compete and go lay it on the line, and we\u2019ll let the chips fall wherever they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Country Day\u2019s Harrison Holman stiff-arms a defender Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Wood said he pushed for dedication and commitment in the weight room to set the tone for this season and the future. Building up the Eagles could take a season, or it could take years.<\/p>\n

Wood, 69, said he hasn\u2019t put any thought into how long he wants to coach. For now, he said he is having fun and enjoying the ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m healthy right now, and [Southwest Christian] is a great place,\u201d Wood said. \u201cAnd who knows? They may not want me around very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Southwest Christian head coach Steve Wood roams the sidelines during a game against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

In his first game back on the sidelines, Wood said he was nervous. It was a familiar feeling he missed in his life \u2014 one that he\u2019s had in every game he\u2019s coached. He\u2019ll feel the same way when SCS faces its next opponent, Class 3A squad West, at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the same feeling as when I coached before,\u201d Wood said. \u201cIt\u2019s that feeling that you can\u2019t get anywhere else unless you\u2019re young enough to be able to play, you know? And some of that\u2019s part of what I missed about the whole thing. I miss just the whole interaction, the relationships, the grind of [the season]. It\u2019s just something that when you do it for so long, it\u2019s hard to put it away. \u201c<\/p>\n

\"Southwest Southwest Christian\u2019s Owen Haller forces a fumble in the fourth quarter against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram \"Fort Fort Worth Country Day\u2019s Owen Bloemendal carries the ball against Fort Worth Country Day on Thursday at Country Day. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram \"Fort Fort Worth Country Day head coach Keith Burns points his finger in a game against Southwest Christian at Fort Worth Country Day High School in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram \"Southwest Southwest Christian players congratulate Tre\u2019von Taylor after a first-half touchdown run at Fort Worth Country Day High School in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram \"Fort Fort Worth Country Day\u2019s Hayes Casey is chased by Southwest Christian defenders in a game against Fort Worth Country Day at Fort Worth Country Day High School in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 11:42 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360\u2019s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Worth Southwest Christian head coach Steve Wood speaks to his team after a game against Fort Worth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-433863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}