SPOKANE, Wash. -- A steady offense and dominating defense in the second half propelled visiting St. John's to a 21-3 win over Whitworth in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs on Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Pine Bowl.

Clark is the all time leader in total offense, passing and touchdown passes

The Johnnies (11-1) limited Whitworth to 128 yards of total offense in the second half and used three sacks to keep the Pirates (11-1) off of the scoreboard. Meanwhile St. John's got into the endzone twice to steadily pull away from a 7-3 halftime lead.

Alex Kofoed completed 22 of 31 passes for 237 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Kyle Gearman caught the only touchdown, while Mike Lofboom led SJU with five catches for 83 yards. Lofboom also ran 13 times for 83 yards and a score, while Craig Luberts rushed eight times for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Whitworth quarterback Joel Clark completed 17 of 31 passes for 221 yards. He was not intercepted. Tight end Michael Allan caught six passes for 101 yards, while Steve Silva had five grabs for 63 yards. Kyle Havercroft ran the ball 18 times for 84 yards.

St. John's scored on its first drive, moving 80 yards in nine plays. Luberts ran in from 15 yards out for the game's first score.

Whitworth turned the ball over inside the SJU 20 yard line on its next possession when Kevin McNamara recovered Milton Nelson's fumble. But the Pirates got on the board the next time they had the ball, moving 64 yards in 13 plays before Cam Collings kicked a 29 yard field goal.

Allan finished with 53 catches for 1,100 yards.

The Johnnies opened the second half with a 64 yard drive, scoring on Lofboom's 11 yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 14-3. Meanwhile the SJU defense.

Whitworth moved the ball into SJU territory on the next possession, but a bad snap on third and four at the SJU 38 yard line caused a seven yard loss and forced a punt.

Early in the fourth quarter Mike Schumacher sacked Clark at the Pirates' twelve yard line on third down. After the punt, St. John's began at the Whitworth 39 yard line and moved for a score in six plays. Kofoed completed a six yard pass to Gearman on a roll out, giving St. John's a 21-3 lead.

The Johnnies had a chance to score later in the quarter, but Peter Ghilardi intercepted Kofoed in the endzone, returning the ball out to the five yard line. Whitworth then went 89 yards to the Johnnies' seven yard line. However they could not score as Shawn Schoenberg knocked away Clark's fourth down pass to Jay Tully in the endzone with 25 seconds to play. The Johnnies did not have to run another play.

Clifton led the Bucs in tackles for the 8th time

Whitworth linebacker Casey Clifton had nine tackles and an interception that killed a St. John's drive at the Whitworth 16 yard line. It was the eighth game this season he has led the team, or tied for the lead, in tackles. Corner back Ryan Marshall also had nine tackles and a break up. Linebacker Greg Caster had a ten yard sack and another tackle for a three yard loss.

Safety John Cloeter led the Johnnies with seven tackles. Linebacker Steve LeVoir also had seven tackles, including a sack of five yards. Defensive tackle Nick Gunderson was in on three tackles for losses of 10 yards. McNamara and Mike Schumacher had the other sacks.

St. John's will now go on to play Wisconsin-Whitewater in the third round of the NCAA playoffs.

Whitworth finished its most successful season ever in terms of wins and post season participation. The Pirates' Clark and Allan also finished their record breaking careers. Clark finished his career as Whitworth's all time leader in total offense (9,656), passing yardage (8,513) and touchdown passes (71). Allan is Whitworth's all time leader in touchdown receptions (29) and finished the season with 53 catches for 1,100 yards.