Michael T. Mondak speaks: Small Battles, Big Victories Chapter 4: The Bye Week

In the most recent post I talked about All U Day against former traditional rival Syracuse.  In this fourth chapter of Small Battles, Big Victories, it's the bye week and Jackson heads home to the Shenango Valley to spend some time with his young fan Cassie.

The Monday after the Syracuse win, the sun rose gently over Mount Nittany.  In the Lasch Building, the locker room felt different—lighter, easier.  Coaches smiled more, players joked in the hallways.  Coach Terry Smith was yucking it up with the media in his weekly press conference, knowing he and his assistants would soon hit the recruiting trail.  Two games in, two wins.  Momentum was building, but the grind never stopped.

For Jackson Pryts, though, the timing of the Week Three bye was a blessing.  The bruises on his shoulders ached, but something else tugged at him stronger—the thought of home.  He hadn’t seen Cassie since July, before camp began.  He’d promised her he’d come back as soon as he could.

Coach Smith gathered the team before dismissing them for the short break.  “Enjoy your time off, fellas,” he said.  “You’ve earned it.  But remember—represent this program wherever you go.  Rest up.  Recenter.  When we come back, we’ve got Air Force on Military Appreciation Day, and I expect you to be ready to go.”

Jackson nodded, already packing his duffel.

The drive from State College to Sharon wound through the Alleghenies, then the long, quiet stretch of I-80, and finally down into Mercer County—the rolling fields, the brick storefronts, and the town that never forgot its own.

By late afternoon, Jackson’s pickup pulled into the parking lot at Sharon Regional Medical Center.  He slipped through the automatic doors, the familiar antiseptic air greeting him like an old memory.

Cassie’s room was on the pediatric floor, sunlight spilling in through the blinds.  Her hair was thinner now, her frame smaller, but the spark in her eyes still glowed.  When she saw him, her smile broke wide.

“Jackson!”

He grinned and stepped inside, a Penn State cap turned backward on his head.  “Hey, kiddo.  I told you I’d come back, didn’t I?”

“You really did!” she said, her voice soft but bright.  “And you beat Syracuse!  I watched the whole thing.  You were awesome!”

He chuckled, pulling a chair close to her bed.  “You think so?  I missed a tackle or two.”

“You sacked their quarterback!” she countered.  “That counts extra.”

They both laughed.  A nurse peeked in, smiling before slipping away again.  For a while, the room felt less like a hospital and more like home.

They spent the next day together—Jackson helping Cassie with her puzzle book, Cassie teasing him when he mixed up states on her map of the U.S.  Her mom brought cookies from the hospital cafeteria, and Jackson told stories from the locker room—about his teammates, about how loud Beaver Stadium got, about the fans who painted their faces like lions.

Before he left that night, Cassie said quietly, “You’re gonna win a big one soon.  I can feel it.”

He looked at her, that small but certain grin that never wavered.  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

He tied a balloon to her hospital bed.  It had the message: “Thinking of you Cassie.”

“Thank you,” said Cassie as Jackson left the room.  She pointed to him and put her right hand on her heart.  Jackson responded in the same way as he went home to get some rest for the journey back to Happy Valley.

By Sunday, Jackson was back on the road east, the hills of Pennsylvania glowing gold with early fall.  The bye week was short, but something in him felt renewed.  Seeing Cassie reminded him why he played—for more than stats or headlines.  For courage, for faith, for small battles and big victories.

As the highway signs for State College came into view, Jackson whispered to himself, “This one’s for her.”

Ahead waited Military Appreciation Day, the Air Force Falcons, and the next test of Penn State’s season.