Missouri Western quarterback Drew Newhart threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Michael Hill ate up 143 yards and scored a touchdown. Receiver Ferrell McGhee stabbed six catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

But the Griffons’ offense made enough little mistakes to allow Missouri Southern to charge back for a 35-34 upset of No. 12 Western on Saturday at Spratt Stadium.

“We just broke down in so many areas,” said Western coach Jerry Partridge, whose team is 7-2 and still positioned well for a Division II playoff berth. “ We did a lot of good things, but we made some pivotal mistakes at critical moments. We just didn’t do what we needed to do.”

The Griffons’ offense appeared one-dimensional in the first half as Newhart had to carry the team. Hill picked up just 13 yards on 12 carries before intermission.

Western missed starting running back Thomas Hodges, who was out with a concussion. Hodges is expected back this week.

“I just was trying to cut it back to soon,” said Hill, a redshirt freshman. “There were a couple of holes; I just wasn’t reading things right.”

Newhart, McGhee and the Griffons’ passing attack made up for it in the first half. Newhart threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters, leading Western to a 17-14 halftime lead. McGhee had 140 yards and two scores in the half.

But in the second half, roles reversed. Hill hit his stride in the third period, rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown in the quarter. Hill finished with 143 yards total.

“In the second half, I got comfortable and got used to it,” Hill said. “I started seeing and hitting the holes better. It was just a matter of being patient and following the blocking, I think.”

Newhart and the passing game hit some hard times, however. Particularly at decisive moments.

The Griffons converted just six of 17 third-down attempts — 35 percent.

That’s despite being a team that has a 49 percent conversion rate for the season, which is second-best in the MIAA conference.

“We left some plays out there,” Partridge said. “We dropped some balls when we really, really just needed to make a catch.”

Those third-down stumbles killed the Griffons in the fourth quarter especially.

The worst stretch hit when Southern closed to within 34-21 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Western found itself in a third-and-7 at their own 41 on the next drive. Newhart threw to Adam Clausen, but Clausen dropped the ball.

Five plays later, Southern scored and cut the lead to 34-28. Three plays later, the Griffons missed on another third-down play with one more incompletion.

To make matters more frustrating, the Griffons’ defense got the ball back in a big way 16 seconds later when Ben Jackson picked off Southern quarterback roland Thompson at the Western 34. The Griffons drove all the way to the Southern 6-yard line with less than 5 minutes left and could have put the game away with just a field goal. But on third down goal-to-go, Newhart got hit behind the line of scrimmage and dropped the ball. Southern recovered and later drove down for the winning touchdown.

“We should have converted on those third downs,” Hill said. “We beat ourselves, and that’s what’s so disappointing.”

As disappointing as the loss might be, the Griffons should still make the playoffs with a win at Emporia next week and against Nebraska-Omaha at Spratt Stadium in two weeks.

“The season’s not over,” Partrdige said. “It’s not the end of the world. We’ve got to get back on the horse and win. It’s as simple as that.”