BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Texas Lutheran fell behind 14-0 early in the first quarter before rolling to a 63-21 American Southwest Conference road victory Saturday against Howard Payne.

At Gordon Wood Stadium, TLU erupted for 28 unanswered points in the first half and for 35 unanswered in the second half.

The Bulldogs improved to 5-3 overall and to 5-2 in the ASC.

Howard Payne, now coached by former TLU assistant head coach Braxton Harris, dropped to 1-7 overall and to 1-6 in the conference.

Bulldog quarterback Kyle Grona (Fredericksburg/Fredericksburg) threw for a career-best 461 yards in leading a TLU offense that registered 677 yards of total offense.

Grona threw TD passes to Reggie Jackson (Killeen/Ellison) for 33 yards, Jordan Braden (Humble/Summer Creek) for 61 yards, J.B. Brown (Refugio/Refugio) for 56 yards, and Jackson again, for 29 yards.

Brown had five catches for 129 yards, and Jackson caught four for 95.

The Bulldogs also received rushing TDs from Christopher Monroe (College Station/College Station), Ian Leslie (San Antonio/Reagan), Braden, and Kaleb Campbell (Houston/Alief Taylor).

TLU picked off three HPU passes and had one interception returned 25 yards for a score by freshman cornerback Coulton Hamby (San Antonio/MacArthur).

Grona completed 21 of 32 passes against the Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs were four-for-five on red-zone scoring chances.

Grona entered the game as TLU's leading rusher. With HPU determined to limit Grona's running efforts, Grona and the Bulldogs took to the air.

Grona was on pace to break Sean Salinas' single-game passing record of 519 yards, but Grona did not play in the fourth quarter.

TLU rushed 49 times for 203 yards. Monroe led the Bulldogs with 72 yards, and Braden added 60.

Emory Cuzze (Buda/Hays) and Jacob Guercia (Forney/Forney) led TLU defensively. Each linebacker had eight total tackles and a tackle for loss. Cuzze also had an interception.

James Bell (Houston/Lamar) collected seven tackles and picked off his fifth pass of the season. Bell has interceptions in each of the last three games.

TLU plays a second consecutive game on the road when it faces Sul Ross State next Saturday in Alpine, Texas. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Jackson Field in Alpine.