Another Griffon football season came to a close Saturday and after a roller coaster of a season, Missouri Western’s general on the field has received some well-deserved recognition.
Drew Newhart was recently named the MIAA conference Freshman of the Year. Newhart threw for 21 touchdowns, only 10 interceptions and over 2,000 yards this year. He had the fourth highest passer rating in the conference during regular season play at 148.4 and completed 58.9% of his passes (139-236.) Numbers like these are very strong, especially for a freshman. Newhart was also an All-MIAA honorable mention selection, but credits his success to his teammates.
“It’s a team accomplishment really,” Newhart said. “It takes everyone to do that. The o-line did a great job this year and the receivers always made big plays so it’s definitely a credit to them too.”
The freshman signal-caller led a highly ranked offensive unit full of young weapons. His 148.4 efficiency rating ranks third among all Division II freshman quarterbacks. Newhart has great poise and leadership, something that is very rare for a freshman. Qualities like these along with his quick feet and even quicker release gives Newhart the ability to simply make things happen out on the field. His play has guided the Griffons to a 9-3 record this year. It is the fourth time in five years that the Griffons have won at least nine games in a season.
Newhart is a very good quarterback, but as a freshman, he has a lot of time to develop into one of the best. Running back Thomas Hodges is also a freshman and appreciates Newhart’s play.
“There’s a lot of good quarterbacks out there,” Hodges said. “But one thing that drew has over all of them is that he has this great knack for making plays.”
Newhart’s play making ability a lot of time provided the spark for the Griffon offense. Averaging 37.1 points per game, the Griffon scoring attack was packed with many big plays. Some of Newhart’s highlights included a 94 yard touchdown hook up with Cedric Houston against Fort Hays State, which is the second longest scoring strike in Griffon history. Newhart also threw for a career high four touchdown passes and 321 yards in a 52-21 victory over Emporia State. Newhart’s numbers were near the top of the conference in nearly every category. Head Coach Jerry Partridge is very proud of his quarterback’s play this year.
“There are a lot of good quarterbacks in this conference, but I wouldn’t trade Drew for any of them,” Partridge said.
Newhart was the leader of the team. Even as a Freshman he gained the respect of his teammates quickly.
The way Newhart captained this very young and very talented squad had many skeptics and believers alike talking about his play. MIAA Freshman of the Year is one of three prized player awards given at the end of every year along with Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. But this is just the beginning of the Newhart era. After nearly leading the Griffons to a playoff berth in his first season under the reigns, Griffon fans are excited for what’s to come in the future. Drew Newhart is equally excited.
“We’re only going to get better so we’re looking forward for things to come,” Newhart said.
Newhart will be one of many returning starters to the team next year. Along with Newhart the team will return Thomas Hodges, La’Darrian Page, Andrew Mead, Andrew Gilmore and many others. Next years team will be full of experienced players ready to make a run at a championship.