Quarterback Drew Newhart tied a Missouri Western record with five touchdown passes Thursday night, and he needed less than a half of play to do it.

Newhart, a junior from Cameron, Mo., got strong running from Thomas Hodges and Michael Hill, then went to the air to put the points on the board in a 49-14 romp against Northern State.

Newhart found Adam Clausen, who played in the place of the injured Andrew Mead, for two of the scoring strikes - covering 30 and 14 yards. He connected with David Fowler, Cedric Houston and Ferrell McGhee on the others as the Griffons (1-0) put this one away by halftime.

Fowler's was a 9-yard reception, while Houston caught a 24-yarder and McGhee hauled in an 8-yard toss to take a 49-7 lead into halftime.

Newhart's five touchdowns tie the Western record set in 2003 by Kyle Westerberg, but Newhart said he didn't yearn to remain in the game for a chance to break the mark.

"You can't really say that. We came out with the win and that's all that matters," Newhart said.

Northern State didn't get its offense into Western territory until late in the second quarter, and even then it was with the help of two consecutive Western penalties -- a personal foul against defensive back Shane Simpson and an offsides call against DL Sean Glades.

That Northern State drive fizzled at the Western 31-yard line. Three plays later, backup quarterback Barron Bradshaw and Houston struck on a 69-yard touchdown pass play, as Houston beat free safety Andrew Wanner badly.

"Coach always tells me that if there's one safety and he's cheating on the other hash, there's no need to sit it down; just keep going. I kept going, and I seen Barron winding up, so I thought, 'Oh, here we go!' He let it rip, and we just let the rest happen."

The Griffons had amassed 359 yards of total offense by halftime, a number they failed to reach in six full games last season. They finished with 438 yards of offense, playing their second- and third-string performers the rest of the way.

Northern State's only first-half score came on a bad snap to punter Austin Barnes, which was picked up and returned 12 yards by Calvin McGruder.

It was the only time in the first half that a Western drive did not succeed.

Northern State scored the only touchdown of the second half, using a halfback pass from John Michael Migdal to Trent DesLauriers to get the final 19 yards of the 62-yard drive their only significant march of the night.

"Terrific first half. Offensively we were outstanding," coach Jerry Partridge beamed, also noting that the defense allowed only 48 yards in the first half.

Hodges gained 94 yards on 13 carries, sharing time with Michael Hill, who carried nine times for 71 yards. The bulk of the second-half carries went to Octavius Thomas, who packed the ball 15 times for 56 yards as the Griffons milked the clock.

The Griffons even went to their third-string quarterback late in the game, bringing in freshman wide receiver Tyron Crockum for a couple of snaps.