Northeast Florida 2022 sports review: Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars show new life in fall

The first signs of a long-awaited Jacksonville Jaguars revival under Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence.

A soggy but sensational five days at The Players Championship.

A 50-year-old on the gridiron, and an 18-year-old with an elusive four-minute mile.

Those were just some of the achievements and the moments to remember across the sports scene in 2022 for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, a year to remember for its highlights and its setbacks.

From a red-and-black triumph in the annual Georgia-Florida clash at TIAA Bank Field to the return of the UFC mixed martial arts championship to the First Coast, the Times-Union looks back at the past 12 months across the Jacksonville area in sports.

Here is part 4, featuring the fourth quarter of the year from October to December.

Part 1:Northeast Florida 2022 sports in review: Hall calls for Tony Boselli, LeRoy Butler

Part 2:Northeast Florida 2022 sports review: Four-minute miler Rheinhardt Harrison sparks spring

Part 3:Northeast Florida 2022 sports review: Cameron Smith wins on British Open turf, almost surf

Oct. 7: Riverside plays Trinity Christian to open its renovated artificial football field on campus, the first to be installed following voters' approval of a tax to improve facilities at Duval County public schools.

Oct. 10: Steve Stricker cruised to victory in the second edition of the Furyk & Friends golf tournament at Timuquana Country Club on the PGA Tour Champions series.

Oct. 15: Deion Sanders and Jackson State roll past Bethune-Cookman in college football at TIAA Bank Field, a 48-8 Tiger triumph.

Oct. 24: University officials release a statement on the future of the Florida-Georgia game. The current deal with Jacksonville concludes after 2023, although it includes a two-year option afterward.

Oct. 24: The Jaguars trade former 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson to the New York Jets, receiving a conditional late-round draft pick in return.

Oct. 25: Edward Waters University hires Ivana Rich as its new athletic director, the first woman to hold the position. She replaces Paul Bryant, who moved to Division I Alabama A&M in August.

Oct. 29: Top-ranked Georgia remains on course for the SEC title, defeating the Gators 42-20 in the annual Georgia-Florida game at TIAA Bank Field.

Oct. 30: Yulee native Derrick Henry breaks Eddie George's franchise record for touchdowns with the Tennessee Titans.

Nov. 3: Jacksonville's Kaitlyn Schroeder is named the American Junior Golf Association female player of the year.

Nov. 7: Jacksonville University travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke's first game since the retirement of longtime coach Mike Krzyzewski, a 71-44 rout for the Blue Devils.

Nov. 20: Adam Svensson sinks long birdie putts on No. 16 and No. 17 on his way to a final-round 64 and victory at the PGA Tour's RSM Classic at Sea Island.

Nov. 21: Bolles School graduate Charles Hicks, running for Stanford, wins the NCAA men's championship in cross country. Hicks follows one month later with the European Under-23 title in Italy.

Nov. 27: Trevor Lawrence leads the Jaguars to a comeback at TIAA Bank Field in a thrilling 28-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, the franchise's first-ever rally from seven or more points down in the final two minutes.

Nov. 27: Former Providence School guard Grayson Allen shoots 7-of-7 from 3-point range in the Milwaukee Bucks' first half against the Dallas Mavericks for the franchise record for 3-pointers in a half.

Nov. 29: Former Bartram Trail wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, an Iowa State senior, is named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for the nation's top college football wide receiver. He becomes the area's first Biletnikoff finalist since Florida's Jabar Gaffney (from Raines) in 2001.

Dec. 2: Longtime Bartram Trail High School football coach Darrell Sutherland steps down after 23 seasons.

Dec. 4: The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl confirms a matchup of Notre Dame against South Carolina, pitting a traditional power against an opponent coming off two top-10 victories.

Dec. 10: Ware County caps a perfect season by defeating Warner Robins 38-13 to win its first-ever Georgia High School Association football championship for Class AAAAA.

Dec. 11: Mandarin High School graduate Sem Sultanov finished first in the Ameris Bank Jacksonville Marathon, while Staci Huelat won the women's race.

Dec. 11: The Jaguars defeat the Tennessee Titans 36-22 in Nashville, snapping an eight-year run of futility in road games against their divisional rivals.

Dec. 14: Bolles graduate Ryan Murphy wins gold medals in the mixed medley relay and the men's 100-meter backstroke at the World Aquatics Short Course Championships in Australia, the first of his five victories at the world meet.

Dec. 16: Mandarin High School graduate Kensey McMahon swims to a bronze medal in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle at the world short course swimming championships, her first-ever international meet in a pool.

Dec. 18: The Jaguars rally from 17 points down to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 40-34, winning on Rayshawn Jenkins' interception return touchdown in overtime.

Dec. 22: The Jaguars defeat the New York Jets 19-3 on Thursday night football. Coupled with the Tennessee Titans' loss to the Houston Texans, the Jaguars conclude 2022 in first place in the AFC South.

Dec. 30: South Carolina, ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, and No. 20 Notre Dame face off in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Jacksonville's first bowl between ranked teams since Virginia Tech met Louisville in January 2006.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX, and sign up for the First Coast Varsity newsletter at https://profile.jacksonville.com/newsletters/first-coast-varsity/.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville area 2022 sports review Part 4: October to December