Florida Sports Wire

(Photo courtesy Dallas Cowboys) By Mike Bonts, Florida Sports Wire DALLAS – What may be a preview of things to come, an aggressive Jacksonville Jaguars offense took control in the first half and scored twice late for a 28-23 NFL preseason win over the Cowboys in Dallas Saturday night. Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw nine yards to Christian Kirk on a fourth and three to put the Black and Teal on the scoreboard first. The Jaguars went for two. Zay Jones caught a pass across the back of the end zone. “We have a lot of depth. Since I’ve been here, it’s definitely the deepest we’ve been. I would argue at every position, but definitely at receiver. We have a lot of good players. It’s going to be tough when it comes down to the end on who’s getting those last spots. We’ve got a lot of really good players," Lawrence said after the game. Jacksonville third string QB Nathan Rourke ran and threw for two fourth quarter touchdowns. The CFL product finished 9 of 17 passing for 153 y...

By Mike Bonts  Despite an early goal by the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the team fell 5-1 to the Jacksonville Icemen on Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.  Greenville need just 1:51 into the game to take the lead, as Max Martin scored his seventh of the season, a power-play strike from the blue line, for the early 1-0 Rabbits lead. At 9:10, Jacksonville answered back with a power-play goal from Ara Nazarian. In the second, Jacksonville took the lead with a  Christopher Brown goal at 5:10, before Luke Lynch added a second Icemen goal in the period at 19:19.  In the third, the Icemen added another goal by Nazarian, an empty-netter, at 17:26, before Brendan Harris added a late power-play goal at 19:22 to solidly the 5-1 score line. With the loss, the Swamp Rabbits fall to 26-14-7-0 while the Icemen improve to 31-15-2-0.  The Icemen play at Charlseton tonight.  the last time these two teams faced off nearly a month ago, Jacksonville has gone 8-3-1 and fo...

(SportsDay photo by Nancy DeLander Beecher) By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – Trailing 27-7 at the half, the Jacksonville Jaguars rallied to advance in the NFL AFC playoffs with a 31-30 win over Los Angeles Chargers Saturday night before 70,250 at TIAA Bank Field. Riley Patterson kicked the winning 36-yard field goal with three seconds to play. A 25-yard run by Travis Etienne on fourth and one set up the score. Etienne ran for 109 yards on 20 carries. The Jaguars pulled to within two with 5:25 to play when quarterback Trevor Lawrence found Christian Kirk for a nine-yard touchdown and rushed for the two-point conversion. The game looked bleak early for the hosts as quarterback Lawrence threw four interceptions in the first half. Lawrence was 28 of 47 passing for 288 yards. But Lawrence steadied the ship, throwing three TDs and bringing the Jaguars to within 10 points leading into the final period. Catches by Evan Engram, Marvin Jones Jr. and Zay Jones closed the gap to...

(SportsDay Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire) By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner ran for two touchdowns and threw for three more as the Irish rallied to defeat South Carolina 45-38 before 67,383 in the Gator Bowl Friday. He was named the MVP. The sophomore threw for a career-high 274 yards with 18 completions on 33 attempts and three scores. He also added 61 yards on the ground. Tight end Mitchell Evans caught the winning TD from Buchner with 1:38 to play. The Irish offense ran for 264 yards total. Audric Estime led with 95 yards on 14 attempts. Logan Diggs added 13 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. Chris Tyree added 21 yards on five rushes. Braden Lenzy added four catches for a game-best 89 yards and a touchdown. Buchner ran for an 11-yard score in the third quarter and 15 yards to tie the game with 5:54 to play in the first quarter. He had two passes returned for touchdowns. Trailing 38-31, O’Donnell Fortune picked off...

  By Mike Bonts TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Lightning (17-9-1) scored three goals in the third period as they earned their 10th win in their last 13 games with a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers (13-11-4) Saturday at AMALIE Arena. "I didn't think we moved the puck, managed the puck or moved our feet particularly well tonight," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We were trying to play a game slower than the game demanded itself to be played. We've got to find a way to get fast on a back-to-back." Pat Maroon opened the scoring and notched his first goal of the season at 8:40 of the first period. Zac Dalpe tied the game at 1-1 for the Panthers with a goal at 6:02 of the second period. Assists went to Josh Mahura and Eric Staal. Brayden Point gave the Bolts a 2-1 lead at 3:03 of the third, sneaking a shot underneath the arm of Panthers goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky. The goal was Point’s 14th of the season. Mikhail Sergachev scored his fifth goal of the season...

By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – The Jacksonville Icemen (10-9) opened a three-game series against the Utah Grizzlies (9-10) Wednesday night before 5,125 at Veterans Memorial Arena with a 5-2 win. Neil Robinson cut into a two-goal Jacksonville lead just 22 seconds into the final period. But Travis Howe increased the Icemen’s advantage with his first goal of the year midway through the third. Then made it 5-2 on a shot into an empty net. The Icemen scored twice in the decisive second period. Luke Martin and Zach Jordan lit the lamp. Jordan made it 3-0 on a shorthanded goal. Utah averted a shutout on Tyler Penner’s fourth goal of the season on a power play in the final minute of the second period. Icemen defenseman Hunter Skinner scored his second goal of the season on a power play to open the scoring. Derek Lodermeier picked up two assists in the victory. Parker Gahagen stopped 27 shots for the Icemen. Trent Miner made 33 saves for the visitors. The clubs meet again in...

SportsDay Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire By Mike Bonts Florida Sports Wire JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - The Jacksonville Jaguars rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 27-20 at TIAA Bank Field Sunday afternoon. The win snapped a five game losing streak. Travis Etienne ran for two touchdowns. His four yarder at the beginning of the fourth quarter gave Jacksonville their first lead. Etienne ran for 109 yards on 28 carries. The second half comeback began with a seven yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to Christian Kirk that cut the Raiders lead to three points. Lawrence was 25 of 31 for 235 yards. Kirk has eight catches for 78 yards. The   Raiders (2-6) led the Jaguars (3-6) 20-10 at the half. Las Vegas was looking for their first road win. Etienne scored on a one-yard run to cut the Las Vegas lead to 17-7 with 4:50 to play in the first half. Riley Patterson made it 20-10 with a 40-yard field goal. He added a 48-yarder wit...

(SportsDay photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire)  – New York quarterback Daniel Jones lunged over from the one with 5:31 to play as the Giants (6-1) came from behind to defeat Jacksonville (2-5) 23-17 Sunday afternoon. A Saquon Barkley 11-yard run, aided by a pass interference and too many men on the field call in the 79-yard winning drive, put the ball on the one. Barkley ran for 110 yards. Jones was 19 of 30 passing for 202 yards. He rushed for 107. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence dove from the one-yard line to give Jacksonville a17-13 lead with 11:45 to play in the third quarter.  The TD drive was highlighted by a 49-yard run by Travis Etienne.  Etienne ran for 114 yards. Lawrence was 22 of 43 passing for 310 yards. Christian Kirk caught seven passes for 96 yards.  With 3:26 to play in the first half New York drove 65 yards following an Etienne fumble. Graham Gano connected on a 32-yard field goal. His third field goal of...

Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) - The Jaguars hosted winless AFC South rival Houston Sunday at TIAA Bank Field. The Texans (1-3-1) are no longer winless. They beat the Jaguars (2-3) 13-6. Houston running back Dameon Pierce scored a one-yard touchdown with 3:11 to play. Pierce ran for 99 yards on 26 carries. He also had three catches for 14 yards. On a third and 20, rookie Travon Walker threw quarterback David Mills to the ground and with 7:20 to play resulting an unnecessary roughness call. It gave new life for a stagnant Houston offense, leading to Pierce’s score. Mills was 16 of 24 passing for 140 yards. Tied heading into the final quarter. Both clubs had relied on field goals for any points. The Texans’ Ka'imi Fairbairn (50,51) and the Jaguars’ Riley Patterson (26,45) accounted for the scoring in the first half. Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence was 25 of 46 passing for 289 yards with two interceptions. Running back Trav...

By MIKE BONTS Florida Sports Wire TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s 2021 season opener against Notre Dame in Tallahassee has been shifted to Sunday, Sept. 5, it was announced Tuesday.  The Seminoles were originally scheduled to host the Fighting Irish on Monday, Sept. 6, but now will have the national spotlight the day before Labor Day. Florida State leads the all-time series 6-3, including a 31-27 victory in 2014 over No. 5 Notre Dame the last time the teams met in Tallahassee.  FSU’s 2021 home schedule also includes matchups with Miami, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, UMass and Jacksonville State.  Priority access to purchase tickets is a benefit to all members of the Seminole Boosters Annual Fund. For more information on the annual fund, visit seminoleboosters.com or call 850-644-3484.

The Georgia football team continued preparations for the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State with a two-hour workout in full pads Friday at the Woodruff Practice Fields. This was the third practice in as many days for the Bulldogs, who will workout in Athens four additional times before reconvening in Jacksonville. “The last three days have been very good,” said interim head coach Bryan McClendon. “There has been a lot of energy, and competition has been going well. The guys are working hard at getting better fundamentally, and they all understand the importance of preparation each day." Earlier in the day, 13 current or former Bulldogs earned their degrees at Georgia’s fall commencement held at Stegeman Coliseum.  The football student-athletes who received their degrees were Patrick Beless, Devin Bowman, Kennar Daniels-Johnson, Cameron Faulkner, Merritt Hall, Hunter Long, Keith Marshall, Chris Mayes, Malcolm Mitchell, Jay Rome, Justin Scott-Wesley, Ben Souther and Rantaviou...

By MIKE BONTS FLORIDA SPORTS WIRE JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --   Playing the Andrew Luck-less Colts, Jacksonville routed AFC South rival Indianapolis 51-16 at EverBank Field Sunday. The win set a club regular season record for most points scored. The Jaguars kept their playoff hopes alive with Rashad Greene's 73-yard punt return that competed a 10-point swing and gave Jacksonville a lead they never relinquished. Luck, the Colts' starting QB, is out with abdominal injuries suffered in a victory over Denver. That left it up to veteran backup Matt Hasselbeck who led the Colts to a 16-13 OT win over the Jaguars in October. Trailing 16-13 entering the second half, Jaguars' QB Blake Bortles threw an 80-yard TD pass to Allen Hurns. Later he would add a four yard score to Allen Robinson.  Bortles had a record setting day with threeTD passes including tight end Julius Thomas' fifth of the season and scored on a one-yard run..  Adam  Vinatiera's 32-yard field goal ...