Editor鈥檚 Note: This article originally ran in The 足交视频 Advocate on March 15, 2024. It is part of The Advocate's 2024 Year in Review, recalling the top stories of this past year.
Clay Whittington and I stopped for lunch at Rudy鈥檚 in Waco on the way to Refugio鈥檚 2011 state championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
As we sat down to eat, we noticed ESPN鈥檚 Outside the Lines program featuring Refugio was on TV.
The portrait was not a flattering one for Refugio athletic director and head football coach Jason Herring, who stepped down as football coach last week for health reasons.
The Bobcats had set a state scoring record that season and were being pillared for running up the score on overmatched opponents.
Oddly enough, I was supposed to appear in the program. A producer from ESPN had called and asked if I could come to Austin to tape a segment.
On the day I was scheduled to go, I received a call from the producer. The Penn State sexual abuse scandal story had broken and the taping was canceled.
I never received a call back, and was somewhat puzzled at the timing of the program, not to mention some of the media coverage before the state final, which went as far as to portray Herring as the Devil.
This isn鈥檛 the man I have known since he arrived in Refugio in 2007, and I have worked with to this day.
I covered a number of Refugio games in 2011 and while I did not believe some of the late touchdowns were necessary, I understood the reasoning.
When Herring was hired, Refugio had not won a state championship since 1982.
The Bobcats were eliminated in the quarterfinals in Herring鈥檚 first two seasons and in the semifinals in the next two.
The only common denominator the Refugio coaching staff could find was the starters not seeing enough action to play a four-quarter game.
Herring knew the criticism would come 鈥 much the same happened when Aledo broke Refugio鈥檚 scoring record 鈥 but decided to play his starters for three quarters.
While spectators around the state were watching to see how many points Refugio would score, the Bobcats were focused on their motto of 鈥渟tay linked鈥 and determined to fulfill Donald Trevino鈥檚 promise to his mother, who had died from cancer the previous year, to bring home a state championship.
Refugio hung on to defeat Cisco 36-35 in the state final, and the lingering image of the postgame celebration is of Herring climbing over the railing to go into the stands and hug his wife, Lisa.
The 2011 state title was the first of three won at Refugio by Herring, whose teams would make seven appearances in the state final.
Reporters who have covered the team and have been called 鈥淕uy,鈥 鈥淗oss,鈥 or 鈥淒ude鈥 by Herring could tell you he has always been accessible and rarely turned down a request to interview him or his players, even the 鈥測oung pups,鈥 as he called his underclassmen.
All you had to do was turn on your recorder, ask Herring a question, and let him go. More times than not, he would finish and say, 鈥楧id you get what you needed?鈥欌
He carried his exuberance onto the practice field, shouting encouragement, praising his players for executing a play, or yelling 鈥測ou鈥檝e got to earn your chicken fried steak,鈥 when he was disappointed with a player鈥檚 effort.
It wasn鈥檛 an act. I once asked Herring鈥檚 son Kobie if he was the same way at home, and his answer was a simple, 鈥測es.鈥
Above all else, what I have taken away from Herring鈥檚 tenure is his love for the kids of Refugio.
I didn鈥檛 say players. I said kids. I don鈥檛 know how many times I would be doing postgame interviews at Jack 足交视频man Bobcat Stadium, and see him greeting or hugging someone who had run up to him on the field.
Herring鈥檚 finest moment during his tenure might have come in 2017, after Hurricane Harvey devastated the town.
Herring went to work helping people to find a place to stay and the supplies they needed, and he did his best to provide his players with some sense of normalcy.
The field house was used for storage, and it was not unusual for people to sleep there.
When Refugio did get back on the field, his resolve was again tested when Casey Henderson, whose home had been destroyed in the storm, suffered a spinal injury making a tackle during a game in Edna and had to be Halo-flighted to San Antonio.
Herring was at Henderson鈥檚 side the next morning and visited frequently until Henderson miraculously walked onto the field for the coin toss of the Bobcats鈥 bi-district game in Mathis.
Herring helped Henderson鈥檚 family get their home rebuilt, and he did all this while leading the Bobcats to the state final.
Herring has never been shy about speaking his mind, and he caused a stir after Refugio lost to Hawley in the 2022 state final.
Herring is not a fan of traveling to Arlington in the middle of the week for the championship game because it takes the Bobcats out of their routine.
He stated that in his postgame press conference and it drew quite a bit of criticism, with some saying he was making excuses.
But Herring said the same thing the day before when I interviewed him when the team stopped at Hewitt Midway to practice.
A number of coaches have told me they agree with what Herring said, but don鈥檛 want to say so publicly.
Herring鈥檚 decision to stop coaching football and pass the job to longtime assistant and close friend Drew Cox did not come as a complete surprise to anyone who has been around the program.
Herring received a tremendous amount of criticism when the Bobcats lost to Ganado in last year鈥檚 regional final, but he is well aware it comes with the territory in Refugio.
I am sure the decision to stop coaching was not an easy one, and I would venture to say he discussed it with his family, Superintendent Melissa Gonzales, pastor T. Wayne Price and prayed on it.
The health reasons Herring stated for stepping down are nobody鈥檚 business but his, his family, and anyone he chooses to share them with.
Herring departs with an overall head coaching record of 293-61, and 224 of those wins came at Refugio. He almost certainly would have reached 300 wins in the upcoming season.
During his 17 years as head coach at Refugio, Herring won over 90% of his games, and the team advanced at least four rounds deep in the playoffs each season.
His teams had dominating wins, miraculous comebacks with late-game heroics, and some gut-wrenching and disappointing losses.
But what I鈥檒l remember from those years is Herring never once denied me the opportunity to watch practice, always provided a place to write, and win or lose, never complained to me about a story I鈥檇 written.
