CISCO — The Santo football team used a familiar formula to overcome a sluggish start Thursday, rushing for 318 yards to wear down and eventually pull away from Roscoe for a 33-12 area-round win at Chesley Field.

Trailing 6-0 less than three minutes into the game and in danger of falling farther behind after fumbling the ball away on their first possession, the Wildcats used a red zone stop, a touchdown drive and a scoop-and-score to take a 14-6 lead into halftime.

And after the Plowboys pulled within two with a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, Santo (11-1) controlled the ball, the clock and the game the rest of the way to advance to the third round of the playoffs for just the third time in program history.