Nov. 23, 2005
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Senior linebackers Maurice Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington), Blake Costanzo (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo) and Dion Witherspoon (Newport News, Va./Heritage) headline Lafayette's selections to the All-Patriot League First or Second team.
Lafayette, which shared the 2005 Patriot League championship with Colgate, and Lehigh each placed 11 players on the list.
The Leopards' linebackers, which combined for 303 tackles in the regular season, lead a unit that is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense (15.5 ppg). Bennett was named to the first team for the second straight year, while Costanzo was a repeat selection to the second team, and Witherspoon earned mention for the first time.
Bennett made 122 tackles to lead the league for a second straight year, and recorded his third straight season with more than 100 stops. He paced the Leopards with 7.0 sacks and was second on the team with 13.0 tackles for a loss of yardage. The senior All-American candidate had five games with 13 or more tackles this season.
Costanzo had 77 tackles this season, including 6.5 sacks, and a pair of interceptions. He posted 94 and 93 tackles, respectively, as a sophomore and junior, and was a second team selection a year ago. He has 297 tackles and 18.0 sacks in his career. Witherspoon was fourth in the league with 104 tackles and second with 14.5 TFL in his only year as a full-time starter. He had 5.0 sacks and a team-leading seven quarterback hurries.
Junior defensive end Marvin Snipes (Philadelphia, Pa./Bartram) was named to the first team by the league's coaches despite not recording a sack all season. He led Lafayette with 5.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage a year ago, and was the focal point of blocking schemes, which allowed Lafayette's linebackers to flourish.
Defensive backs Torian Johnson (Largo, Fla./Largo) and Tye Murphy (Columbia, Md./Hammond) are also members of the second team. Johnson led the Leopards with three interceptions, which he returned for a total of 84 yards, and made 53 tackles as a junior. Murphy was third in the league with 12 passes defensed, made 51 tackles, and had Lafayette's only defensive touchdown this season, a 50-yard interception return in the closing moments against Bucknell.
Senior wide receiver Brandon Stanford (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) capped his career with a spot on the first team offense. He was second in the league with 52 catches for 635 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games, and paced the circuit with 6.0 catches and 80.5 yards per game in league tilts. Lafayette's single-season record holder with 438 punt return yards this season, Stanford averaged 14.6 yards per return to rank ninth in the nation.
Senior guard/tackle Drew Buettner (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and junior tackle Mike Saint Germain (Morris Plains, N.J./Morristown) join Stanford on the first team. A second team selection a year ago, Buettner played at right tackle and both guard spots for the Leopards this season. Saint Germain, meanwhile, was the only offensive lineman to start every game at the same position, lining up at left tackle. They helped lead an offense that finished second in the league in passing offense (210.7) and third in total offense (359.7).
Quarterback Brad Maurer (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) and tight end Chad Walker (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff) round out Lafayette's honorees as members of the second team offense. Maurer led the PL in pass efficiency in league games by a wide margin (141.6), and was also first in both passing average per game (225.4) and total offense (254.4) before being knocked out of the Leopards' game at Lehigh early in the first quarter on Saturday. The junior finished with 1,562 yards passing and nine touchdowns.
Walker caught 13 balls for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and was extremely valuable as a blocker, especially when injuries forced near constant shuffling along the offensive line. He hauled in scoring passes of four yards at Marist and 23 yards against Princeton.
No. 25 Lafayette (8-3, 5-1) defended its 2004 Patriot League championship and earned an at-large spot in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The Leopards will travel to Boone, N.C. for their first round match-up with No. 2 seed Appalachian State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
