Florida Sports Wire

By Jeff Moeller JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - Go ahead, pinch yourself. If you’re 50 or over, you know what I mean. If you’re under 50, it’s time for a reality check. Yes, your Jacksonville Jaguars currently – and can be – a good football team this season. It is only three games into the season, and it may appear early to jump on the bandwagon of a 2-1 team that entered the season winning only four of their last 29 games. Add to that a string of 18 consecutive losses on the road. They met an early litmus test last week when they dominated the Los Angeles Chargers in the exquisite confines of SoFi Stadium, one of the league’s centerpieces.  Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert played despite a bad rib problem, and it looked like the Jags would fall into the same trap again. Start off strong and then eventually have breakdowns that would result in a lopsided loss. However, it didn’t happen. You got a different feeling at halftime even with the Jags holding a slim 16-7 lead at the

KNOXVILLE - Not sure what happened. Jaylen Wright’s touchdown run gave Tennessee a 38-21 lead over Florida with 7:55 remaining in Saturday’s SEC matchup in Knoxville The Tennessee defense must have thought the Gator was in the bag. Two Florida touchdowns and a successful onside kick with 17 seconds to play the Gators were on the verge on beating the Volunteers again. “Yeah, make a play. We did not want them to sit back there and pat it all day long and find a way to get off the football field and come away with a win,” said Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. “Obviously, the hands team must find a way to come up with that one on the second attempt, and there are some things we could do better. Clock management could change that too.” After letting Florida back in the game Kamal Hadden intercepted a pass from Gators QB Anthony Richardson on the final play of the game to seal the victory. Richardson is being heralded as coming of age as a starting QB in the late rally. His pass

  JACKSONVILLE (SportsDay)  – An eight-run second inning including a three-run homer by Ryan Lavarnway guided the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to victory over the Charlotte Knights 12-3, Sunday at 121 Financial Ballpark in front of 5,190 fans. The Jumbo Shrimp (78-68) brought 11 hitters to the plate in the second as they jumped out to a huge lead. Ryan Lavarnway singled and went to third a double by Luis Aviles Jr.  Following a ground out, Bryson Brigman drove in both runners with a double to put Jacksonville ahead 2-0.  Dalvy Rosario tripled in the ensuing at-bat, scoring Brigman for a 3-0 lead. A double by Brian Miller plated Rosario, and a single by Ray-Patrick Didder drove in Miller, increasing the lead to 5-0. Jesús Sánchez singled putting two runners on base, and Lavarnway (11) blasted a three-run homer, making the score 8-0. The Knights (58-89) responded in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Carlos Pérez (21) hit a solo homer, giving Charlotte their first run of the day. A

By Jeff Moeller JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - Call it fate. Call it karma. However, you also have to take advantage of opportunities. There is something about this Jaguars team that had a 24-0 shutout over AFC South rival Indianapolis last week at TIAA Field. The thoughts are running rampant that the Jags could capture the division title.  The Jags excelled in all three phases of the game, and proved to themselves that they can be a productive team. They did take advantage of an out-of-sync Colts, who never truly got on track and out of their own way. That’s what good teams do. The Jags did it..can they have an encore? Yes, one big win does not a contender make. This team could still finish with four wins.  Yet, a trip to Los Angeles to play the Chargers Sunday afternoon can bring them around the bend a little further.  This one is about opportunity.  Chargers’ stud quarterback Justin Herbert was still very questionable to line up under center because of bruised ribs. Ditto for

(SportDay Photo by Nancy Beecher) JACKSONVILLE (SportsDay) – Luis Aviles Jr. and Ray-Patrick Didder each blasted a home run on Friday but the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp fell to the Charlotte Knights 7-5 in front of 8,179 at 121 Financial Ballpark. After falling behind 5-4 in the sixth, Charlotte (57-88) regained the lead with a rally in the seventh. With one out, Blake Rutherford walked and advanced to second on a passed ball.  Two batters later, Craig Dedelow walked and a wild pitch by Jacksonville (77-67) reliever Will Stewart (L, 6-5) put runners on second and third. Zach Remillard walked and Mark Payton followed with a bases-clearing double to flip the game 7-5 in favor of the Knights. The Knights broke the game open in the second inning. Lenyn Sosa (9) launched a solo home run to lead off the inning to give Charlotte a 1-0 advantage. The Knights built up their lead with a run in the third. Zach Remillard was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Mark Payton drew a walk. Two batte

Colts had a hard time handling Josh Allen (41). (Photo by Nancy Beecher) By Jeff Moeller JACKSONVLLE (Florida Sports Wire) - The perfect game..at least the first half. That’s what occurred for the Jaguars in their 24-0 shutout against the Colts Sunday at TIAA Field. What everyone was waiting for with Trevor Lawrence at the helm finally happened.  New head coach Doug Pederson has been playing his part. Remember the date. Sept. 18, 2022. In the future, it could be a cornerstone date. (Think 2024 season.) The Jags were perfect in all three phases of their game. For the most part, the second half was just as good as the first half. If they could stuff it all in a bottle, they would.  But the NFL offers plenty of chances. The offense behind Lawrence was precise and efficient as it could possibly be. The defense, led by a cast of characters, clamped down with highlight reel plays that kept the hapless Colts out of the end zone. It’s true, the Colts were out of sync the entire afternoon, but

(Photos by Nancy DeLander Beecher/SportsDay) By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - Christian Kirk caught two touchdown passes as the Jaguars (1-1) got on the winning track Sunday with a convincing 24-0 NFL win over Indianapolis (0-1-1). Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was 25 of 30 passing for 235 yards. James Robinson rushed for 60 yards. The game was never in doubt. The visitors couldn't get their offense going.  They were 2 of 8 on third downs. And gained only 54 yards on the ground. Colts' QB Matt Ryan was sacked five times, twice by outside linebacker Josh Allen. He threw three interceptions. Ryan finished 16 of 30 passing for 195 yards. Offensively   Kirk caught his second touchdown of the game from Lawrence in the third quarter. The five-yard reception came on a 92-yard drive. The Jaguars increased their lead in the second quarter on Robinson's 37-yard run up the middle, to make it 14-0 Riley Patterson kicked a 52-yard field goal. Lawrence was 14 of 1

Photo by Mary Holt/USF Athetics GAINESVILLE (SportsTicker) – The USF football (1-2) team gave No. 18 Florida (2-1) all in wanted in a wild game the Gators held on to win, 31-28, before 88,496 fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on a Saturday night. The third-largest crowd USF has ever played in front of nearly witnessed one of the biggest wins in program history as head coach Jeff Scott’s Bulls ran for 286 yards, totaled 402 yards of offense and kept Gator quarterback Anthony Richardson in check in a game that wasn’t decided until a missed 49-yard field goal attempt with 23 seconds to play. The Bulls outscored the Gators 15-7 in the second half, outgained the Gators 402-329 and held a 28-24 lead with 11:14 to play, but a couple miscues and a late Florida touchdown drive prevented the upset. Sophomore running back Brian Battie ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown and junior quarterback Gerry Bohanon added 102 and a touchdown on the ground as USF’s offensive line

FILE photo by Jim Brady/SportDay NASHVILLE (SportsTicker) –   Elieser Hernández tossed 5.1 scoreless innings as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp recorded their Triple-A-best 12th shutout in a 4-0 blanking of the Nashville Sounds on Friday from First Horizon Park. Hernández (4-2) fanned eight in his 5.1 frames. His only trouble came in the sixth inning with Jacksonville (75-63) ahead 2-0. Nashville’s (83-55) Sal Frelick and Esteury Ruiz singled before Brice Turang walked to load the bases with nobody out. Hernández struck out Jon Singleton looking before exiting after throwing 95 pitches. George Soriano came on and got Joey Wiemer to hit into a double play to escape the jam without any damage. Soriano worked 2.2 frames before yielding to Eli Villalobos, who pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the shutout victory. Jacksonville got on the board in their first at-bats. Erik González walked against Sounds starter Robert Gasser (1-1) to lead off the ballgame. After moving to second on a ground ou

(Photo courtesy of Washingtin Commanders) By Mike Bonts Florida Sports Wire Trailing by two points with less than two minutes left to play in the game, Washington drove from their own 10-yard line to the Jaguars 24. Facing a third and 8, Commanders’ quarterback Carson Wentz found Jahan Dotson in end zone to seal a 28-22 comeback win over Jacksonville. Dotson scored his second TD of the afternoon. On the Jaguars' ensuing drive, Darrick Forrest secured an interception to close out the game. Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence was 24 of 42 for 275 yards with one interception. The Jaguars No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, Travon Walker, became the first rookie since T.J. Watt in 2017 to have an interception and a sack in his league debut. Devin Lloyd recorded a team-high 11 tackles in his NFL debut. Jaguars' linebacker Josh Allen recorded four total tackles, including two tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. Allen  forced a fumble in the second quarter recovered by Foye Oluokun. Trailin

(Photo by Sarah Peacok)  JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – In a battle of attrition, Savannah State and Edward Waters traded punch-for-punch on Saturday, but the Tigers held their will at the line to pick up their first win of the season. Trailing by three points, Edward Waters started the final drive of the game on their own 29-yard line with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Six plays later, with a new set of downs and one minute to play, on Savannah State's 23-yard line, they looked poised to score. Out of the shotgun, Tyler King rushed up the middle but lost the ball. Jonathan Glover was there to recover for Savannah State and help the Tigers to a 31-28 win over Edward Waters. With the win, Savannah State evened the historic series at 12-12-4 and new coach Aaron Kelton earned his first win as a Tiger. It was the first conference win as well for the team since Edward Waters moved up from a provisional to a full member in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Confere

(SportsDay file photo by Nancy DeLander Beecher) By Jeff Moeller JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - Mike Caldwell spent two years working with Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay from 2019-21. During their time together, Bowles was the team’s defensive coordinator, and Caldwell was the linebackers’ coach. He expressed his knowledge of the game had increased due to Bowles’ presence. For Jones and Bowles, it always had been about the defense. More specifically, it was run defense. This spring, Caldwell brought the same philosophy across the state to Jacksonville as the team’s new defensive coordinator under Doug Pederson.  Caldwell will get to see his philosophy at work Sunday in the Jags’ opener in Landover, Md, to meet the Washington Commanders. "That's the thing we hang our hat on – not just this Sunday, but every Sunday," stated Caldwell earlier this week. “There are more three receiver groupings in the league now. You don't find many fullbacks anymore. "It's chang

By Tim Letcher/UK GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mark Stoops became Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach as No. 20 Kentucky topped 12 th -ranked Florida 26-16 on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was the Kentucky defense that came up large all night long. The Cats held Florida to 279 yards of total offense and kept Florida’s talented quarterback Anthony Richardson in check. UK’s defense also came up with a pair of huge interceptions, both of which defined the outcome of Saturday’s win. Kentucky (2-0) struggled offensively but made enough plays to get the win. Quarterback Will Levis connected on 13 of 24 through the air for 202 yards and a touchdown. Kavosiey Smoke carried the ball 14 times for 80 yards, most of which came in the second half. Florida had the opening possession of the game but, after one first down, the Gators were forced to punt. On Kentucky’s first possession, the Cats went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Florida. The Gators took over on their own 48 and qui

(SportsDay photo by Nancy DeLander Beecher) JACKSONVILLE (SportsTicker) - Louis Aviles, Jr. hit a two run homer in the second inning and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp went on to a 3-2 win over the Iowa Cubs Saturday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. Jesus Sanchez scored on Victor Victor Mesa 's scarifice fly to center to make it 3-2. Matt Mervis homered for the visitors.  The Cubs second came on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Lavarnway. Jackson Frazier scored after stealing third on the errant throw. Jacksonville starter Josh Rogers picked up the win. The clubs meet again Sunday afternoon on the series finale at 3:05 p.m. --- Mike Bonts

TORONTO (SportsTicker) - Five Jacksonville University men's lacrosse players heard their named called Saturday evening in the 2022 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft, held at The Carlu in downtown Toronto. The Dolphins had three of the first 12 selections in the draft, with Dylan Watson (#2 overall, Las Vegas Desert Dogs), Zack Deaken (#8 overall, New York Riptide), and Bo BowHunter (#12 overall, Halifax Thunderbirds) heard their names called early in the draft.  Jacksonville was one of three schools with multiple selections in the first round. In the third round, Troy Hettinger became the fourth 'Phins to hear his named selected, going 57th overall to the Philadelphia Wings.  In the six round, Max Waldbaum rounded out the Jacksonville draft selections, going 103rd overall to the Philadelphia Wings.

(File Photo by Nancy DeLander Beecher/SportsDay) By Jeff Moeller JA CKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) –   The Jaguars open the season Sunday at Washington with a better than legitimate chance to win an opening game for the first time only since 2020.  They beat Indianapolis then, 27-20, behind Gardner Minshew, but then went on to lose their next 15 consecutive games. Hence, you got Trevor Lawrence. Maybe there was some Karma there. Now, Lawrence is again center stage after a learning curve in his progress last season. Of course, he is the face of the franchise. There are some new leaders on the forefront but the Jags’ fate and fortune rest of Lawrence’s shoulders beginning Sunday. Lawrence is ready to embark on a journey that could establish him as the quintessential Jaguar and even one of the quintessential Jacksonvilleites. The pressure cooker atmosphere around him has subsided, but the expectations are still near boiling.  There is a better sense of calm. Lawrence had a memorable deb

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Icemen, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Travis Howe for the 2022-2023 season.   Howe, 28, returns to Jacksonville where he registered 11 points (3g, 8a) with 119 penalty minutes in 41 games played last season.      In addition, Howe scored a goal with 14 penalty minutes in eight postseason appearances this past spring.     D uring the 2020-21 season, Howe recorded four points (1g, 3a) and 55 penalty minutes in 21 games split between the Icemen and the Fort Wayne Komets.    In total, the 6-4, 235-pound winger has accrued 42 points (15g, 27a) with 824 penalty minutes in 213 ECHL contests split between the Icemen, Komets, Utah Grizzlies and Greenville Swamp Rabbits from 2016-2022.      "We're excited to have Travis back this season," said Icemen Head Coach Nick Luukko. "His game took tremendous strides last season, not from just th