Michael T. Mondak speaks: Small Battles, Big Victories Chapter 2: The Season Begins

In the first chapter of Small Battles, Big Victories, I introduced you to the two main characters in the story:  Jackson Pryts, a linebacker for Penn State and Cassie Day, the nine-year-old Ionta Elementary School student battling cancer.  This second chapter is about the home opener at Beaver Stadium against in-state rival Bucknell.

Labor Day weekend arrived warm and golden in Happy Valley.  The smell of grilled burgers and sausages filled the air outside Beaver Stadium, mingling with the sound of the Blue Band warming up.  Penn State fans who had traveled thousands of miles, streamed through the gates, children clutching pom-poms, parents balancing stacks of hot dogs and sodas.

For Jackson Pryts, redshirt junior linebacker, the day felt like destiny unfolding.  The roar when he ran through the tunnel was thunder itself—107,000 voices lifting the team toward September glory.

Inside the stadium press box, Lisa Byington of the Big Ten Network adjusted her headset as the game was about to go on the air.

“Big Ten Network, live from Beaver Stadium.” she said. “Penn State’s season begins today against the Bucknell Bison.  Good afternoon, I’m Lisa Byington, and alongside me in the broadcast booth, former Nittany Lion Matt Millen.  Rick Pizzo will join us from the sideline later.  Matt, a brand new season, and Penn State comes into this in-state matchup on a mission.  They want to take that first step towards a national championship, something these 100,000-plus people here haven’t seen in nearly forty years.”

Millen chuckled.  “Lisa, I’ll tell you, it doesn’t matter if it’s an FCS opponent—when you run out of this tunnel, it’s as special as it gets.  It never gets old, because I have been there before.”

Down on the field, Jackson strapped on his helmet, blue jersey gleaming in the late-summer sun.  His lucky wristband was tight on his left wrist—the one he’d promised Cassie he’d wear every game.

Miles away, in a quiet hospital room in Sharon, Cassie Day sat propped up against her pillows, eyes fixed on the TV mounted to the wall.  A Penn State cap rested snugly on her head.  Her nurse, Julie, had wheeled in a tray with popcorn and a juice box.

“You ready, Captain Cassie?” Julie asked.

Cassie nodded fiercely.  “Ready.”

The coin toss.  The kickoff.  The new season was underway.

From the start, the Lions smothered Bucknell.  On the opening defensive drive, Jackson blew through a gap and sacked the Bison quarterback with a crushing hit.  The crowd erupted, the stadium shook, loud enough to cause a seismic event measuring a 3.2 on the Richter scale.

“Jackson Pryts! Are you kidding me?!” Gus Johnson’s familiar voice echoed in Cassie’s imagination, though she knew it was Lisa Byington calling the play.  Cassie grinned wide, hugging her pillow.

Penn State’s offense rolled, the defense tightened, and by halftime the game was firmly in hand.  But for Cassie, the score wasn’t what mattered.  She watched every snap like it was a lifeline, every tackle a promise kept.

Late in the fourth quarter, Jackson jogged to the sideline as the reserves took over.  He sat on the bench, helmet in his hands, eyes scanning the sea of white.  He thought of a little girl back home in Mercer County, lying in a hospital bed with a Penn State cap perched proudly on her head.

The final whistle sounded.  Penn State 48, Bucknell 3.

Fireworks lit the evening sky above Beaver Stadium as the band struck up the Alma Mater.  Jackson sang, hand over heart, his voice quiet but certain.

In Sharon, Cassie sang too, off-key but full of pride, tears shining in her eyes.

The season had begun.