REFUGIO, Texas — The Refugio Bobcats brought the state championship trophy to the Coastal Bend for the fifth time.
3News was in Refugio Thursday morning to greet the state champions and their biggest fans as they returned home.
"That's why I'm in business. I love the kids to death, and I've got the best job in America," Refugio Head Coach Jason Herring said. "Everybody wants to come to Refugio to be a Bobcat."
The Bobcats went 5-0 in the district and had a perfect overall record of 16-0.
"If there's ever been a group of kids that deserved to go to state, it was this team," Herring said.
Herring has won the last three of five state titles and instills the same fundamentals in his squad.
"You've got to grind. It's going to be hard. It's going to be hot, and it's going to be cold. Just got to keep going," right tackle Devin Flores said.
Although it is not the Bobcats' first time being state champs, the feeling of being the best in all of Texas still feels great for them.
"So happy for the kids. So happy for the school. So happy for the community," Herring said.
According to Herring, "it takes a village" fits perfectly in the community of Refugio -- the backbone of the Bobcats' success.
"And I love these kids with all my heart," Herring said. "We always back our team, no matter what. Regardless of whether they are not blood family -- they all belong to us."
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