Seven Northwest Missouri State Bearcats earned All-Super Region Three honors Wednesday announced by the Don Hansen Football Committee.

A trio of Bearcats earned first-team honors led by defensive standouts Nate DeJong and Collin DeBuysere. Senior offensive lineman Rod Williams joined the defensive stars on the first-team and was also named First-Team All-Region by Daktronics in last month, helping the offense averaged 41 points per game, the eighth best mark in NCAA Division II.

DeJong and DeBuysere combined for 12 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.

Also earning all-region accolades were defensive lineman Travis Chappelear and punter Kyle Goodburn being named to the second-team. Kicker Todd Adolf, who was a Fred Mitchell Award finalist, joined cornerback Brandon Dixon on the third-team. The Northwest defense was one of the best in the nation holding opponents to 13 points per game, the third lowest total in NCAA II.

Chappelear was the third leading tackler for the Bearcats with 62 tackles and added 8.0 tackles for a loss. The senior blocked two kicks and recorded 1.5 sacks with one forced fumble as he was also invited to play in the 2013 Casino Del Sol College All Star game at Kino Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.

Goodburn led the MIAA in punt average and was fourth in the nation averaging 44.2 yards per punt.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2012 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named later this month. A total of 103 players earned some form of Don Hansen All-Super Region Three honors. Players from 38 of the 46 football-playing schools in Super Region Three earned All-Region accolades.