Refugio coach Jason Herring refused to call Thursday night's Class 2A, Division II bi-district game against Tidehaven a wakeup call, but the Bobcats left Memorial Stadium with their eyes wide open.

The Tigers pushed No. 1 Refugio to the limit before the Bobcats were able to come away with a 28-25 win that wasn't secure until the final seconds.

Refugio (11-0) scored four consecutive touchdowns to overcome a 13-0 deficit and held off a late fourth-quarter rally by Tidehaven (4-6).

"I could tell during pre-game we were real, real uptight, we weren't the same team," Herring said. "I was a little nervous. I kind of ripped them before the game and told them they better wake up because it was fixing to be a game. I could just tell by our demeanor. It wasn't the same as it was all year long."

The Bobcats advanced to the area round against the winner of Friday night's's Dilley-Hebbronville game in a large part because of their defense.

Refugio overcame an outstanding performance by Tidehaven running back JaCorey Fisher thanks in part to three interceptions, one of which was returned 31 yards for a touchdown by Bryan Castellano.

"I guess it was the shock of the moment," said Castellano, whose touchdown put the Bobcats up 28-13 with 11:10 left in the fourth quarter. "I wasn't really sure I had it. Whenever I got it, I just headed straight to the end zone."

But the Tigers (4-6) rallied behind Fisher, who carried 22 times for 202 yards, and scored on an 80-yard run in the first quarter and added touchdown runs of 7 and 2 yards in the fourth quarter.

"For 150 pounds the kid runs like he weighs 300 pounds," Tidehaven coach Shawn Woods said of Fisher, who attended his grandmother's funeral on Wednesday. "I had to sit him down after the funeral and tell him to just take it easy. He's a great kid and I just love him to death."

The teams lived up to their reputation as gunslingers. Refugio threw the ball 37 times and Tidehaven put the ball in the air 28 times. The Tigers first touchdown came on a 21-yard pass from Sean Dannels to Robert DeWoody, and the Bobcats scored on a 5-yard pass from Kyle Hendley to Brian Ramirez.

"What they do offensively is scary that's why we do it," Herring said. "They do what we do and they believe in it and we believe in it. I knew they could big play us. The bottom line is we found a way to win and that's all that matters."

Hendley completed 23 of his 32 passes for 192 yards and was picked off once. Charlie Henderson led Refugio in rushing with 12 carries for 126 yards. Terrence Smith played most of the game on defense and was limited to eight carries for 37 yards, but scored on a 1-yard run. Aaron Perez added a 2-yard touchdown run for the Bobcats and Eric Martinez was successful on all four of his extra point kicks.

"This is kind of a heads up saying we all should do our best that we should do every little thing right," Castellano said. "We have to keep our heads up and look forward to the future."

Rushing -- Tidehaven, JaCorey Fisher 22-202; Damion Foster 1-3; Sean Dannels 1-(-6). Refugio, Charlie Henderson 12-126; Terrence Smith 8-37; Bryan Castellano 2-10; Aaron Perez 4-8; Christian Espindola 1-(-2); Cory Brown 2-(-4); Team 1-(-4); Brian Ramirez 1-(-5); Kyle Hendley 5-(-18).

Passing -- Tidehaven, Dannels 11-28-3 154. Refugio, Hendley 23-32-1 192; Perez 1-3-0 7; Ramirez 0-10 0; Team 0-1-0 0.

Receiving -- Tidehaven, Robert DeWoody 5-48; Evan Stavinoha 2-78; Fisher 2-8; Colt Clontz 1-11; Foster 1-9. Refugio, Jourdan Ortiz 6-78; Ramirez 5-30; Smith 4-4; Irvin Fox 3-29; Castellano 3-14; Espindola 2-32; Henderson 1-12.