The itch to continue a football career doesn’t have to fade away after one’s senior year because of any barriers between high school and college ball.

Our area is blessed to have a junior college, Sauk Valley Community College, that can provide an oportunity for recent high school grads who want to make a gradual transition up the athletic and academic ladder.

However, Sauk doesn’t have football. For those who enjoy the sport, there aren’t a lot of options within a 200-mile radius.

Junior college football gave Logan Wickens an opportunity to shine on the gridiron, and have fun doing it.

Wickens, a 2017 graduate of Rock Falls High School, has found championship success in the JuCo ranks at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. A starting right tackle, the 6-foot-4, 330-pound Wickens helped lead his Raiders from an 0-5 start to a Region XIII title Sunday in a 47-19 win over Itasca College.

To equate the championship on paper to the Region IV championships Sauk has won in recent years, it’s about the same. However, in JuCo football, not all region winners advance further in the playoffs.

Wickens got to wield a championship trophy of some sort to show for hard work done on the field. That feeling has been a pipe dream for Rock Falls football in recent decades.

“It’s a pretty surreal moment, coming from Rock Falls’ history of unfortunately not being a winning program – as much as I hate saying it,” Wickens said. “Coming from four losing seasons and back to one with a winning season, it wasn’t a walk in the park.”

Wickens was a two-way starter on the Rockets’ line from 2015 to 2017. Winning games didn’t come easy; the Rockets entered his junior year on a 25-game losing streak, which was snapped in Week 1 with a win at Rockford Christian. That team finished 3-6, and that record was duplicated his senior year.

Only three teams since 1992 – the last year Rock Falls qualified for the playoffs – have ended their seasons with a win, and the 2017 team was the last to do that. Wickens and his senior class went out with a win at Hinders Field against Woodstock North.

One of Wickens’ biggest thrills his senior year was being a running back for two-point conversion plays, having made three in four tries.

He played at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, after his senior year, but finances got in the way of his Division III career. He didn’t take enough snaps to consider that season a true freshman season, though. He turned to advice from a friend and teammate, 2016 RFHS grad Collin Olson, and made the switch to junior college ball.

Olson played at Central Lakes for 2 years before moving on to Eureka College, where a knee injury ended his season.

“Collin had a huge impact on me coming there,” Wickens said. “He told me great things about the school. I trusted him, and everything he says is true.”

“He figured it out, and found it home,” Olson said.

After the 0-5 start, Wickens and his teammates entered the Week 6 Homecoming game with Fond du Lac Tribal College more fired up, with the mentality of being sick of losing. He considered that 41-15 win the best game he played in all year, and the wins kept coming.

“JuCo is an experience that a lot of people don’t get,” Wickens said. “Many want to go to a 4-year, which is great, but in a JuCo you get 2 years, and you’ve got to make them count.”

Olson made sure his years counted.

“For me, it showed me that players can come from anywhere and play together and form a real team,” Olson said. “I went 9-1 and then 8-2 in 2 years of JuCo ball, and it was a blast.”

The Region 13 win made the Raiders eligible for further competition, but they were not chosen for one of five NJCAA bowl games or the national championship. One of those games isn’t too far away: the College of DuPage hosts the annual Red Grange Bowl at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 at Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium in suburban Glen Ellyn.

The hosts (7-4), winners of the bowl in 2016 and 2017, take on Itasca, New York (8-3). The 2016 win came against Central Lakes, 25-22 in overtime.

Sterling graduate Kerry Reynolds played in five games this season for the Chaparrals (7-4) at offensive guard and center. The 6-3, 285-pound freshman redshirted last year. Coming into the bowl game, the Chaparrals lead junior college football with 7.4 yards per rush, and are sixth in total rushing yards (2,469) and third in yards per pass completion (16.4).

The Chaparrals are the only remaining junior college in Illinois to field a football team. Closer options to the Sauk Valley, such as Rock Valley, Joliet and Harper – where Bureau Valley standout Garrett Barnas played in the late 2000s – all folded about 10 years ago.

Lack of state funding and emphasis elsewhere have led to the decline of junior college football across the nation. Only 57 junior college football programs remain. Kansas, Minnesota and Mississippi continue to have conference structures for schools there. Texas has six teams. Iowa has three programs remaining: Ellsworth, Iowa Central and Iowa Western.

Being far away from home has its early adulthood advantages as well. Most community colleges don’t have dorms, and out-of-state students have the opportunity to live in a place of their own and deal with the duties of that.

“Being 8 hours away from family and friends, and living on your own, I think it’s a great step in the right direction toward maturing, being responsible, being independent and self-motivated,” Wickens said.

Because this year was considered his freshman year, Wickens plans to continue with the Raiders and lead them to better results.

“Participating in junior college football gives high school players an opportunity to come out, start, and will give other colleges more looks at you,” he said. “Coming from a 4-year, you’re not going to get recruited from other schools. JuCo is a great opportunity to prove yourself coming out of high school.”