JACKSON – For the second time this season, Northwest redshirt sophomore quarterback Michael Hiers has been selected as the offensive Player of the Week by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.

Hiers completed 16 of his 19 pass attempts in last Thursday's 41-13 road rout of Holmes, while passing for 337 yards and four touchdowns. This is the second game this season where the Birmingham, Ala. native has thrown for 300 or more yards, nearly matching his 343 passing yards in last month's overtime win at Northeast.

Two of Hiers' touchdown passes came on back-to-back 77 and 65-yard strikes to D.T. Sheffield and Keyon Fordham in the second quarter. Additionally, Hiers also rushed for a short touchdown in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

For the season, Hiers has now completed 67 of his 95 attempts and tallied 969 passing yards and nine touchdowns through the air. He leads the MACCC in both passing yards and yards per game (242.3), while ranking second in completions and touchdowns.

Hiers has also thrown only one interception in four games, helping the Rangers remain undefeated at 4-0 on the season.

Prior to arriving at Northwest, Hiers saw limited action at Murray State last season and redshirted with the Racers in 2018. He earned numerous accolades during his prep career at Briarwood Christian School, including an honorable mention nod to the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Class 5A All-State team. 

As a senior, Hiers completed 179 of his 260 passing attempts and threw for 2,672 yards and 22 touchdowns as he helped the Lions to a runner-up finish in the AHSAA Class 5A state championship.

With a win on Thursday, Nov. 19 against Mississippi Delta, the Rangers will clinch their fourth MACCC North Division title since 2015 and its seventh playoff berth in as many years. The Rangers previously defeated the Trojans on the road on Nov. 7 by a 26-9 margin, improving to 45-23-2 all-time against MDCC.

Northwest and Mississippi Delta have not faced each other twice in the same season since 1991, when the Rangers earned a 55-14 regular season victory and a 20-17 triumph in the MACJC Championship. Northwest would go on to an 11-1-1 overall record that season and finish as the NJCAA national runner-ups.

Kickoff between the Rangers and Trojans is set for 7 p.m. in Senatobia. Live coverage can be found on nwccrangers.com/watch.