Nov. 23, 2005
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University senior football player Michael Ononibaku (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) was named to the Patriot League's first team All-League, it was announced today. Ononibaku was one of three Hoya players, all on the defensive side of the ball, to take home league honors.
Ononibaku was the lone Hoya to earn first team honors. Senior defensive back Maurice Banks (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) and junior defensive end Alex Buzbee (Chester, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) earned second team honors.
The Hoyas finished the 2005 season with a 4-7 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Patriot League. Georgetown, which posted conference wins over Bucknell and Fordham, was led by a defense that ranked third in the league overall, first in the league in pass defense and sixth in the country in that category.
Leading that unit was Ononibaku, who capped off his four-year career by earning first team honors for the second-straight year. Ononibaku leaves Georgetown as one of the most decorated defensive players in program history. He was a three-time Patriot League selection, as he earned second team honors as a sophomore in 2003, earned preseason All-America Honorable Mention honors form The Sports Network this season and was named to Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division I-AA First Team Defense All-America team last year.
One of the team's captains, Ononibaku finished third on the team, and 10th in the Patriot League, in tackles with 81 (39 solo), a 7.4 per game average. He led the conference in both sacks, with 8.5 (seven solo), and tackles for loss, with 15.5 (13 solo). He finished the season ranked among the top-25 in the country in tackles for loss. In conference games, Ononibaku led the league with 10.0 tackles for loss in seven games, and third in the league with 4.5 sacks.
Ononibaku also finishes his career second all-time at Georgetown in sacks with 29, and sixth all-time in tackles with 212.
Banks earns second team all-league honors for the second-straight season. He finished fourth on the team, and 15th in the Patriot League, with 77 tackles (52 solo), and led the team with four pass break-ups.
Buzbee also earned second-team Patriot League honors for the second-straight season. He finished the season with 44 tackles (29 solo), ranking among the top-30 in the conference. In addition, the junior was fifth in the Patriot League with 6.5 sacks and fourth in the league with 12.5 tackles for loss. In conference action, Buzbee led the league with 5.0 sacks in seven games, and was second in tackles for loss with 9.0.
Since joining the Patriot League in 2001, Georgetown football players have earned 10 all-league honors. Ononibaku is the first player in Georgetown history to take honors three times, and the first to earn first team honors twice. This is the third-straight year three Hoyas have earned all-league honors.
