Dec. 15, 2005

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette linebacker Maurice Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) placed eighth in the voting for the 2005 Buck Buchanan Award, which was presented at the Division I-AA College Football Awards banquet on Thursday night in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Earlier this week, Bennett accepted first-team All-American accolades from the Associated Press and The Sports Network, which presents the major I-AA awards. The senior co-captain led Lafayette to a share of the Patriot League championship for the second straight year in 2005 and finished with 133 tackles, 7.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for a loss of yardage.

Bennett led the Patriot League in tackles this season after tying for the lead with 119 stops in 2004. He was a first-team All-Patriot League selection both seasons and led a defense that allowed an average of 18.0 points per game in his final two years.

Cal Poly defensive end Chris Gocong, who led the nation with 19 sacks, won the 11th Buchanan Award, which goes to the most outstanding defensive player in I-AA. Defensive end Brent Hawkins (Illinois State) and linebacker Justin Durant (Hampton) were second and third.

Bennett was one of seven players to earn mention on the initial Buchanan watch list and maintain a spot throughout the season. He garnered 83 points and was grouped closely with Chad Nkang (LB, Elon), Jay McCareins (DB, Princeton) and Willie Freeman (LB, Furman). Bennett finished 14 points ahead of Appalachian State defensive end Marques Murrell and Villanova linebacker Brian Hulea.

The Buchanan Award was established in 1995 by The Sports Network and was named for All-Pro defensive end Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs after a standout career at Grambling State.

Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer edged gunslinger Ricky Santos of New Hampshire by five points (333-328) in the closest voting in the 19-year history of the Walter Payton Award. Sean McDonnell guided New Hampshire to a 10-1 record and the No. 1 seed in the I-AA playoffs to claim the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's top coach.

Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani, the 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year, was sixth in the Robinson Award voting last season after leading the Leopards to the Patriot League championship and the first postseason appearance in school history. Tavani has compiled a 28-19 record over the last four seasons.

2005 BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD VOTINGNAME (SCHOOL)               1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th TotalChris Gocong (Cal Poly)         44  21  11  6   10  359Brent Hawkins (Illinois State)  19  22  19  10  6   266Justin Durant (Hampton)         13  11  11  8   13  171Reed Doughty (Northern Colorado)    5   8   9   13  8   118Chad Nkang (Elon)               7   3   5   13  9   97Jay McCareins (Princeton)       3   7   6   9   11  90William Freeman (Furman)        6   4   8   2   11  85Maurice Bennett (Lafayette)       0   5   10  11  11  83Marques Murrell (Appalachian State) 2   4   8   5   9   69Brian Hulea (Villanova)         2   5   6   8   5   69Shannon James (Massachusetts)       4   3   5   6   4   63Brady Fosmark (Weber State)     5   5   2   1   1   54Cameron Siskowic (Illinois State)   0   4   5   8   5   52Jeff Charleston (Idaho State)       2   4   5   2   3   48Antoine Bullock (Duquesne)      1   3   2   9   5   46Zak DeOssie (Brown)         0   4   1   2   1   24*Alex Arinsmier (Davidson)      0   0   0   0   1   1