EMCC’s Davier Bishop and Hayden Houpt Collect MACCC Player of the Week Football Honors
East Mississippi Community College defensive end Davier Bishop and placekicker Hayden Houpt have collected MACCC Player of the Week football honors for their respective defensive and special teams performances during the Lions’ thrilling 31-28 Homecoming victory over Northeast Mississippi this past Saturday. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference office.
JACKSON – East Mississippi Community College defensive end Davier Bishop and placekicker Hayden Houpt have collected MACCC Player of the Week football honors for their respective defensive and special teams performances during the Lions' thrilling 31-28 Homecoming victory over Northeast Mississippi this past Saturday. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference office.
Bishop, an Akron, Ohio native, made a major impact up front during Saturday's EMCC win over Northeast with three of his five total tackles in the contest having come from behind the line of scrimmage for 14 total yards lost. Along with his two quarterback sacks (for -11 yards) and additional 3-yard tackle for loss, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive lineman also forced a fumble on the Tigers' first offensive possession of the game to set the tone for EMCC's defensive unit on the afternoon.
For the season, Bishop leads the Lions with four quarterback sacks for 21 total yards lost as part of his 17 total tackles on the year. A transfer from Notre Dame College in Ohio, he was previously credited with the game-saving blocked kick of a 35-yard field goal attempt at the end of EMCC's narrow 7-6 home win over now-No. 13 Hinds during Week 2 of the current campaign.
Houpt, a sophomore kicker from Madison, Miss., booted the game-winning, 23-yard field goal with time expiring on the game clock to secure EMCC's three-point victory over Northeast. Along with kicking the game-winner in his lone field goal attempt of the day, the Germantown High School product was a perfect 4-for-4 on PAT kick attempts while also averaging 54.6 yards on his five kickoffs with one touchback.
On the year, Houpt has scored 34 total points by having connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts as well as making 19-of-20 PAT tries for the Lions.
Head coach Buddy Stephens' 4-2 EMCC Lions (3-1 in MACCC North) will step out of division play for the final time this regular season by playing host to the Wildcats of Pearl River Community College from the MACCC's South Division on Thursday (Oct. 16). Kickoff for the EMCC-PRCC contest is set for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.