WAVERLY—In a season filled with suspenseful finishes, it was—what else?—a fourth-quarter comeback that delivered a record 29th Iowa Conference championship to the Central College football team with a 17-14 showdown victory before an overflow throng at Wartburg College Saturday.
           
Freshman Jake Viggers (Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) punched through a 25-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to climax the thrill ride, letting the fourth-ranked Dutch complete a second straight 10-0 regular season and earn a record 19th NCAA Division III playoff berth. It was the 27th straight regular-season win for Central, which was 8-0 in league play. No. 14 Wartburg drops to 8-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference.
           
The 32-team playoff field will be announced Sunday on ESPNU between 10:30-11 a.m. Central is ranked third in the West Region and in position to host a first-round game in the eight-team West bracket, particularly with a 17-16 Bethel (Minn.) win over previously unbeaten St. John's (Minn.).
           
Saturday's win was Central's sixth come-from-behind victory and the fourth time the Dutch have needed a fourth-quarter score for the win. Quarterback Tim Connell (senior, Eldora, Eldora-New Providence HS) directed a dramatic 10-play, 43-yard drive in the final 2:18 after Wartburg evened the score at 14-14 with a 38-yard Nick Yordi pass past a blitzing Dutch defense to Neil Suckow.
           
"This is a team that never gives up," said fourth-year coach Jeff McMartin, who won his third straight league crown. "I'm really proud of our guys. They have great heart and great passion."
           
It was the second gamewinner for Viggers, who booted a 30-yard field goal for a 37-34 triple-overtime victory at Dubuque Oct. 20.

"You know, you've got a freshman kicker there, and he's won one other game for us this year," McMartin said. "And that's pretty special. It was just the culmination of a great season and a great game – really special."
           
But for much of the day it appeared that Wartburg would be the team celebrating a league title. On Central's first play from scrimmage a rare Connell fumble on a sack handed Wartburg the ball at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Yordi hit Suckow on a 3-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead.
           
That lead held throughout the half as Central's high-powered offense was handcuffed, producing just 86 yards. But the Dutch defense didn't let the game get away.
           
"The first half was a little rough," Connell said. "Wartburg's got a great defense. But we knew we had to run the ball and we came out determined to do that in the second half."
           
"We just made a few adjustments," McMartin said. "We felt like we could run the ball better and that would help our passing game. Our defense was playing great and kept us in the game. I said 'Hey, it's only 7-0.' We just wanted to stay with the game plan but to run the ball more. That was the one adjustment we made and were pretty effective with that."
           
And the key adjustment in the running game was Connell. His quarterback draw plays sparked the Dutch offense as he gained 81 yards on 14 carries to finish as the game's leading rusher. That opened up the Central attack and he found Josh Smith (senior, Pella) for a 25-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
           
The Central defense held but the Dutch had to start their next possession on their 11-yard line. Connell got them out of the hole with a 39-yard strike to Smith, then scrambled on runs of 12 and 11 yards as Central moved to the Wartburg 10. A trick play did the rest. Connell pitched to running back Vance Schuring (senior, Pella), who turned and tossed a pass to Connell in the flat, where he eluded a Wartburg defender to find the end zone. That made it 14-7 Central with 10:04 left.
           
Wartburg was stopped in Central territory on its next possession, but with 3:03 left took over for one more shot and moved 66 yards in just three plays, capped by Suckow's TD.
           
Fans were smelling an overtime finish for the second straight year but a stiff wind and a Wartburg penalty combined to let Central start its final drive on its 49-yard line after a short kickoff. Connell gained 12 yards on two quick carries and a couple of completions to Cody Wille (senior, Williamsburg) put the Dutch in field goal range for Viggers.
           
Connell was confident on the winning drive.
           
"I knew we had just an explosive offense," he said. "We just had to stay calm and move the ball methodically down the field. And that's what we did and never gave up. That's been the story of this team this year so far – we just don't give up."
           
Wartburg, which had Division III's second-ranked scoring defense, limited Connell to 11 pass completions in 28 attempts with one interception and one TD. Smith finished with five receptions for 104 yards and a score. Schuring, the only Central player other than Connell to rush the ball Saturday, gained 59 yards on 17 carries.
           
Yordi completed 24 of 34 passes for 252 yards and two TDs with one interception for Wartburg. But the Knights were held to just 52 yards on the ground, led by Suckow's 22 on 15 carries. Wartburg outgained Central 304 yards to 287. It's the 15th straight time that Central has won when it was outgained.
           
But credit a Dutch defense that saved perhaps its finest effort for the conference finale. Central stinger Dustyn Baethke (senior, Williamsburg), one of several key Dutch players to miss significant time with an injury this season, was back and in a big way. He made a game-high 12 tackles, including six solos. Linebackers Andrew Lehn (senior, Packwood, Pekin HS) and Greg Altmaier (senior, Iowa City) each made 10 stops.
           
"It was just a great defensive effort by our guys," Connell said, who said this one felt even better than the previous Central comebacks.
           
"This is the greatest game I've ever been involved in," he said.
           
He got no arguments from Schuring, a two-time league MVP who used a medical hardship to come back for an extra year, only to spend much of it sidelined with injury.
           
"It was way worth it," he said. "I'd come back for another seven years if the NCAA would let me."