Jacksonville sports review 2023: Jaguars' AFC playoff run to Scottie Scheffler Players win
This is the first of a four-part series looking back at the biggest sports stories from 2023 in Jacksonville.
A Jaguars run to the divisional playoffs, the next step in stadium rumblings and a virtual earthquake in the golf world.
A record catch in the ocean, gold medals in the pool and a no-no for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on land.
Another Bulldog romp in the annual Georgia-Florida game, the return of UFC and new shakeups on the First Coast soccer scene.
Perfection, but frustration, for Florida State football.
Those were just a few of the storylines of note from 2023 in Northeast Florida sports, a year to remember from the gridiron to the green and beyond.
The Times-Union looks back at some of the area's big stories from the past year.
Jan. 4: Former Ribault High School receiver Calvin Muhammad, a Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Raiders, dies at age 65.
Jan. 7: The Jaguars complete their turnaround from a 2-6 start to the AFC South division title, defeating the Tennessee Titans and clinching the team's first playoff trip for five years.
Jan. 14: In a record-breaking rally on national television, the Jaguars fight back from a 27-point hole to stun the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 on Riley Patterson's game-winning field goal at TIAA Bank Field.
Jan. 21: The Kansas City Chiefs end the Jaguars' playoff run, defeating the Jags 27-20 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Feb. 5: Travis Lucas and Caroline Moore earn their first-ever marathon victories at the Donna Marathon at the Beaches.
Feb. 18: The University of North Florida's men's basketball game against Austin Peay ends in a bench-clearing brawl after the buzzer of the Ospreys' 73-71 loss. UNF's Jonathan Aybar and three Austin Peay players subsequently receive suspensions from the ASUN Conference.
Feb. 24: Bartram Trail defeats Boca Raton 3-0 in the FHSAA Class 7A girls soccer championship, completing an unbeaten season and winning the Bears' third title in four years.
March 2: The University of North Florida fires women's basketball coach Darrick Gibbs after eight seasons and a career record of 95-138.
March 4: Hillary Bor wins the men's race at the Gate River Run and Emily Sisson captures her third consecutive women's title on a rainy morning in the annual 15-kilometer competition.
March 11: Tom Hoge sets a course record at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, firing a 10-under 62 in the third round of The Players Championship.
March 12: Shooting a 17-under 271 to overcome the field by five strokes, Scottie Scheffler wins The Players Championship and rockets into No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking.
March 15: Jacksonville University and women's basketball coach Darnell Haney part ways after five seasons, termed a mutual agreement by the school. Haney had coached five seasons with a 64-75 record.
March 18: The Bob Hayes Invitational Track Meet holds its first edition at UNF's Hodges Stadium after moving from Raines.
March 26: For the second day in a row, Jacksonville University's Kris Armstrong hits three home runs in a game for Dolphins baseball against Central Arkansas.
March 28: St. Johns Country Day senior guard Taliah Scott competes in the McDonald's All-American Game for girls basketball in Houston, only the fourth Northeast Florida player ever chosen for the game.
March 28: Newly-acquired Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley announces that he will wear the number zero, the first player to choose the number since its approval by the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville 2023 Sports Year Review P1: Jaguars playoffs, Scheffler win
