PELLA—Ending a 20-year drought wasn't nearly as easy as the Central College football team made it appear Saturday.
           
But Dutch quarterback Tim Connell (senior, Eldora, Eldora-New Providence HS) tossed four touchdown passes for the second straight week—including three strikes to Cody Huisman (senior, Mason City)—and third-ranked Central continued on the NCAA Division III playoff trail with a stunning 37-7 outburst against No. 8 St. John's University (Minn.) in second-round action Saturday. 
           
Central is home again next Saturday with a berth in the national semifinals on the line as the Dutch face No. 10-rated Bethel University (Minn.) at noon at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium. Bethel (11-1), seeded second in the eight-team region behind Central, advanced with a 21-12 victory over Wis.-Eau Claire Saturday. It's Central's first trip to the quarterfinals since 2000.
           
Central's win was its first over perennial powerhouse St. John's since a 13-3 playoff victory in the teams' first meeting in 1987 and it was St. John's worst defeat since a 56-8 setback against Mount Union College (Ohio) Dec. 4, 1993, a span of 176 games. St. John's had won four of the last five contests with Central and ousted the Dutch in the first round of last year's playoffs, 21-13.               
           
But Saturday it was all going Central's way as the Dutch scored their season's most lopsided win despite facing their highest-ranked opponent.
           
Huisman hauled in a 23-yard scoring pass on Central's opening possession. Two
possessions later, Central was pinned at its own 11-yard line, facing third-and-13. But Connell went deep for a career-long 89-yard TD strike down the middle to Huisman, who outraced a St. John's defender to the end zone and the Dutch were off to the races as well.                                                                                           
           
Connell finished 19-of-33 for 309 yards to continue his playoff roll that includes last week's 38-17 rout of Olivet College (Mich.). In the two games he's completed 39 of 69 passes for 565 yards and eight TDs.
           
Dutch coach Jeff McMartin said grabbing the early momentum was the difference.
           
"We got off to a real good start," he said. "We had a good first drive and scored a touchdown and then we did real well on defense again on the next possession and that gave us some confidence. I felt then that we could do some special things."
           
None more special than the bomb to Huisman.
           
"Hitting the big pass was a tide-turner," McMartin said.
           
Huisman, who also caught a 7-yard scoring pass in the third quarter, had seven receptions for 167 yards.
           
"We did the little things," Huisman said. "We made the right calls at the right time. Tim (Connell) did great, the line did great. I just happened to be the guy who got the ball."
           
Meanwhile the Dutch defense delivered a memorable performance, nearly shutting out Division III's 12th-ranked scoring offense. St. John's, which hadn't been held scoreless since 1990, didn't find the end zone until just 2:19 remained. Quarterback Alex Kofoed, the all-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference passing leader, hit Brian Weber on a 20-yard TD pass on fourth down.
           
However that was only the second time that St. John's converted on seven fourth-down  tries. In last year's win at Central, St. John's was 4-of-6 on fourth down.
           
"Our defense played the best I've seen all year," said Connell. "Kofoed is a great quarterback and they've got a great running back but our defense contained them and put us in great position to win it."
           
Falling behind early, St. John's was forced to abandon the running game. Kofoed completed 27 of 57 passes for 283 yards but was intercepted twice. The Johnnies were limited to just 34 yards on the ground, all by running back Mike Patnode on 10 carries. Patnode also was St. John's top receiver with 13 catches for 115 yards.

"Early on this year, our defense had some injuries and lapses," said cornerback Guy Dierikx (senior, Port Byron, Ill., Riverdale HS), who had a game-high four pass breakups. "But we're getting healthy now and everybody really stepped up today."

Dierikx said the early Central offensive outburst gave the defense a lift.

"That's the way it's been all year," he said. "As soon as we get the spark, it all snowballs."

Dutch linebacker Andrew Lehn (senior, Packwood, Pekin HS) had nine tackles and an interception. He upped his career tackles total to 356, ranking fifth on Central's all-time list.

"Andrew Lehn was awesome today," McMartin said.

Free safety Brett Doud (senior, Oskaloosa) had eight tackles and made his sixth interception of the season. It was a school record-tying 18th career interception, matching the total of Matt Paulsen (1994-97). Paulsen is now Doud's defensive backfield coach. Linebacker Greg Altmaier (senior, Iowa City) also had eight tackles, giving him 124 for the season, the eighth-highest total in school history.

Central held a slim 309-283 yard advantage in total offense but turned the Johnnies away four times on five trips to the Red Zone, inside the 20-yard line. Central was 5-of-5 in the Red Zone and forced three turnovers while committing just one.

Running back Vance Schuring (senior, Pella) gained 84 yards on 20 carries and also had five catches for 37 yards. Wide receiver Josh Smith (senior, Pella) had three catches for 30 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown on a fourth-quarter pass which he wrestled away from a St. John's defender.

Meanwhile Jake Viggers (freshman, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) tied the school season field goals record. He had scoring kicks of 18 and 28 yards, improving to 13-of-15 for the year. Matt Schulte (1984) and Rick Vander Horst (1987) also had 13.

While the final score wasn't anticipated, McMartin wasn't surprised by his team's effort.

"The kids had great focus," he said. "They worked hard all week and today they executed. They just made plays. Look across the board, we had a lot of people making plays.

"St. John's is a good football team. It's a tested, veteran group that's won a lot of games. But we just played a great game."

The Dutch are excited about next week's quarterfinal, Huisman said, but he's also taking a moment to savor Saturday's hard-earned win after being sidelined by the Johnnies a year ago.

"The feeling is awesome," he said. "This is what we worked for in the off-season."