Three players from the league’s top defense and two offensive players highlight the Daktronics first-team all-region selections in Super Region 3 for the Northwest Missouri State football team.
Seniors Nate DeJong and Collin DeBuysere along with junior Brandon Dixon were tabbed first-team defense all-region. On the offensive side of the ball, seniors Todd Adolf and Rod Williams earned first-team all-region accolades.
DeJong, DeBuysere and Dixon combined for 15 interceptions on the year as Northwest led NCAA Division II with 28. DeJong led the team with seven picks while DeBuysere was the second leading tackler with 74 and added a team high nine tackles for a loss. Dixon grabbed five interceptions and finished with 10 passes defended as Northwest held opponents to 13 points per game, the third lowest total in NCAA II.
Williams earned his second all-region honor on the offensive line as Adolf was named first-team kicker. Adolf was outstanding going 13-of-16 on field goal attempts while connecting on a perfect 70-of-70 extra points for the year. Williams helped the Bearcat offense average 41 points per game, eighth best in NCAA II, and average 432 yards of total offense per game.
A pair of Bearcats also earned second-team honors as senior Jordan Simmons was tabbed return specialist on offense and Kyle Goodburn earned defensive honors as second-team punter. Simmons finished his career moving onto the Northwest all-time list for scoring, rushing yards, receiving yards, kickoff returns and punt returns. Goodburn led the MIAA in punt average and was fourth in NCAA Division II averaging 44.2 yards per punt.
Northwest advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the ninth straight season, the longest current streak in Division II. The Bearcats finished the season 10-3 falling in the second round of the playoffs to No. 1 seed Minnesota State Mankato.
First team all-region honorees are now eligible for Daktronics, Inc. Division II Football All-American selection. The announcement of those All-American teams is expected on December 11th, preceding the NCAA Division II Football Championship, which takes place Dec. 15 in Florence, Ala.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) from Super Region 3, made up of football playing institutions in the Great American Conference (GAC), the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
— NWMSU Sports Information —