NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — Something had to give.

Heading into Saturday night’s Class 3A Region I bi-district playoff at Birdville Fine Arts Center, Sanger (9-2) hadn’t won a playoff game since 1997, and for Clyde (5-6) the postseason drought dated all the way back to 1989. That matchup made for good fortune for the Indians, as they rode the legs of senior running back Nathan Pegues into the area round for the first time in nine years with a 49-22 victory over the Bulldogs.

It was the first playoff victory in head coach David Hughes’ four years at Sanger and happened in the same calendar year in which the coach underwent a kidney transplant, and starting quarterback Tanner Miller broke his leg at the same time back-up quarterback Tallon Condiff was ineligible.

Nathan Pegues

“Our motto is handle any hardship, overcome any obstacle and to find a way to win. That’s what the kids have done,” Hughes said.

Sanger advances to face Graham next week at a site and time to be determined.

Without Miller and Condiff, Pegues carried the offense. Taking the ball on direct snaps, Pegues rushed for 253 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. While he gained more than 60 percent of Sanger’s 415 total yards, he refused to hog the credit.

“It wasn’t the team on my shoulders,” Pegues said. “We just came together, all of the seniors, because we didn’t really have a quarterback. It was a team effort, and we gave it to them switching out the quarterbacks.”

Just like the Indians did last week against Argyle, seniors Casey Patton and Weston Squier shared time at quarterback with Pegues. Patton was mainly the passing threat, going 8-for-13 for 104 yards -- with six receptions for 92 yards going to senior Alex Carrow. Squier added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries.

“We’ve had this makeshift offense for two weeks, and the kids have just done an exceptional job,” Hughes said. “Everybody is blocking well.”

The game went south for the Bulldogs right away, as they lost 5 yards on their first drive and then had a punt blocked due to a bad snap that the Indians’ Jose Moran recovered in the end zone with 10:02 left in the first quarter. Clyde returned the favor, however, blocking the ensuing point after attempt to keep Sanger’s lead at 6-0.

The Indians then put the game out of reach in the first quarter, with Pegues sandwiching touchdown runs of 47 and 68 yards around a 44-yard touchdown bomb from Patton to Carrow. Pegues added a 2-point run, Patton found Squier for a 2-point pass, and Sanger led 28-0 with 3:05 left in the opening frame.

Sanger held Clyde to only one first down in the first quarter, and the Indians caught as many passes from Bulldog quarterback Jacob Gonzales in the first half as his own receivers. Sanger defensive backs Jacque Neyrey and Carrow each intercepted him once, and he had only two completions before halftime.

In the first half, Sanger rolled to 190 yards and 12 first downs, while surrendering only 26 yards and two first downs to Clyde.

Clyde was only able to get on the board when a bad snap on a punt soared over Ray Flores’ head, and he was thrown for a loss at his own 2-yard line. Gonzales dove into the end zone two plays later, and Sanger led 28-6 after the ensuing point after floated wide right with 5:24 left in the half.

The Indians just answered right away, taking the bite out of the Bulldogs before the intermission, with a 13-play, 58-yard drive capped off by Squier’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 46 seconds left in the half. Another missed extra point left the margin at 34-6.

Neyrey added a second interception in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs were able to get their offense going through the air against Sanger’s reserves in the second half.

Gonzalez threw for two late touchdown passes, but it wasn’t enough to catch Sanger, and the Indians were on their way to the area round.

ETHAN B. SZATMARY can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is eszatmary@dentonrc.com.

Sanger 49, Clyde 22

Class 3A Region I bi-district playoff

(At Birdville Fine Arts Complex, North Richland Hills)

Clyde   0            6             8             8            —            22

Sanger  28            6            15            0            —            49

Scoring Summary

First quarter

S — Jose Moran 0 punt block recovery (kick blocked), 10:02

S — Nathan Pegues 47 run (pass failed), 7:49

S — Alex Carrow 44 pass from Casey Patton (Pegues run), 5:46

S — Nathan Pegues 68 run (Weston Squier pass from Patton), 3:05

Second quarter

C — Jacob Gonzales 1 run (kick failed), 5:24

S — Squier 1 run (kick failed), 00:46

Third quarter

S — Pegues 19 run (Pegues run), 9:42

C — John Clifton 32 pass from Gonzales (Abe Chiappone pass from Gonzales), 2:22

S — Pegues 31 run (Jose Moran kick), 00:02

Fourth quarter

C — Hunter Yates 9 pass from Gonzales, 3:04

Team statistics

           C            S

First downs            10            16

Rushing            28-84            41-311

Passing 128            104

Com.-Att.-Int            11-24-3          8-14-0

Total yards            212            415

Punts-Avg.            4-33            4-35

Penalties-Yds            3-20            9-65

Fumbles-lost            1-0            3-0

Individual statistics

Rushing — C: Jacob Gonzalez 7-27, Colby Smith 8-24, Curtis Kevil 5-20, Abe Chiappone 8-13; S: Nathan Pegues 19-253, Weston Squier 11-73, Trent Womack 8-23, Chase Knight 1-(-1), Casey Patton 1-(-3), Ray Flores 1-(-34).

Passing — C: Gonzales 11-24-3-128; S: Patton 8-13-0-104, Pegues 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — C: Hunter Yates 5-68, John Clifton 2-37, Kelci Gonzalez 2-14, Ryan Henson 1-7, Smith 1-2, Hunter Yates; S: Alex Carrow 6-92, Squier 2-14.