Proving it can win with defense as well as its usually high-scoring offense, Central College clinched at least a share of its record 30th Iowa Conference football championship with a 17-0 shutout of Buena Vista Saturday. The win also assures the Dutch of its 20th NCAA Division III playoff berth. Central improved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the Iowa Confeence and they have just one regular-season game remaining, taking on preseason league favorite Wartburg College next Saturday at Waverly. But Coe College is the only other squad with a mathematical chance of tying for the title and Central holds the tiebreaker over the Kohawks for the league’s automatic NCAA berth because of their 24-6 head-to-head victory at Pella Sept. 26. Central, which entered the game averaging a league-best 39.2 points a game, scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, then relied on the Dutch defense, which recorded its second shutout of the season. Central limited the Beavers to 226 yards of offense, including minus 13 yards rushing. It’s the second time this season that Central has limited an opponent to negative rushing yards and the Dutch are surrendering just 64.6 yards rushing per game. Central forced two Beavers turnovers, including a fumble at the goal line.. Central also recorded five quarterback sacks. David Zachary topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the seventh time, gaining 125 yards on 26 carries while quarterback Nate Snead rushed for 67 yards on 17 carries. Snead completed 6-of-13 for 66 yards with one interception while Zack Bandow connected on 5-of-7 for 35 yards.