Football | 12/29/2011 7:58:00 PM

[All-Super Region 4 team]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Five members of the Western Oregon football team garnered postseason all-regional honors as the Don Hansen All-Super Region Four squad was recently released.

Offensive lineman Jason Slowey and safety Bryce Peila led the way by being named to the second team. Trevor Gates, Isaiah Buchanan and Gavin Drake followed with third team selections.

Slowey was voted the GNAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and was a unanimous first team all-conference selection. He also was recently named to the All-Super Region 4 first team. The 6-5 offensive tackle from Medford, Ore. (North Medford HS) was named to four preseason All-American teams, including the D2football.com team and the Lindy's Sports Magazine team. He paved the way for the Wolves to rush for over 165 yards in five games and he protected the quarterback's blindside all season.

Peila was a unanimous first team All-GNAC selection. He ranked third in Division II with nine interceptions and set the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record with 243 return yards. He finished the season with 58 tackles (31 solo) and 13 passes defended. Peila was a two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Week selection and ranks second in league history with 15 career interceptions.

Trevor Gates was a unanimous first team All-GNAC selection. He set the Western Oregon record for single-season receiving yards this year with 988. He also had 59 receptions, scored five touchdowns and had at least two catches in all 11 games. Gates also added four straight games with 100+ yards receiving and 1,026 all-purpose yards to his resume. Gates was also a standout in the classroom where he was named to the GNAC All-Academic team.

Drake was tied for second in the GNAC with 6.5 sacks and fourth with 13.0 tackles for loss. The junior defensive end from Portland, Ore. (Central Catholic HS) added 46 tackles, five passes knocked down and three quarterback hurries.

Buchanan, a senior cornerback from Portland, Ore. (Grant HS), was the second leading tackler on the Wolves and 12th in the GNAC with 68 stops. He aylso led the conference with 14 passes defended and was the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24). He started all 11 games and had double digit tackles in three of them.

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 2011 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named in January.