Shortly before the Siena Heights football team kicked off their season at Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) on Sept. 5, Travis Zajkowski was warming up as the starting quarterback for the Saints. Zajkowski had no idea that he wouldn’t take his first snap until a Sept. 26 match-up at #9 Saint Xavier (Ill.)

“It was one of those freak things,” Zajkowski said about the injury that would eventually keep him out of the season opener. “Nothing major happened. We were just doing what we normally do before every game to warm up, and I hit my hand on someone’s knee or something. I felt it right away, and after a while I couldn’t grip a football. It started swelling like crazy so I knew something was wrong.”

What Zajkowski knew was wrong ended up being diagnosed as a hairline fracture at the base of his right hand knuckle between his middle and index finger, an injury that would keep him out the first three games of the season. Backup quarterback Nick Gilliam stepped in to lead the Saints to a 2-1 start.
Finally, on Sept. 26 against the #9 ranked Saint Xavier Cougars, Zajkowski was re-inserted into the lineup as the starting quarterback with tape around his middle and index finger.

He wasted no time making his presence felt, as he threw for a school record 470 passing yards on 35 of 53 attempts in the Saints’ eventual 38-31 loss. Four of those 35 completions found the back of the end zone, one of which that went for 72 yards to wide receiver Aaron Doriot.

“It was a big game,” Zajkowski said. “It would have been nice to get those first couple games in just to get those first-game jitters out, where as the other team was already in mid-season form. It was difficult at first, but then it was all within the flow of the game.”

Following the game, Zajkowski had no idea he even broke 400 yards passing, let alone the school record of 470 yards.

“When I was told I was in complete shock,” he said. “I was told on the bus ride home and I had to check to see if they were even telling the truth.”

For Zajkowski, the achievement is nice, but he would of traded many of those yards back for a victory on the road against #9 St. Xavier.

“It’s an accomplishment and I take pride in those kinds of things,” he said about the record, “but I would rather have us win and not have thrown for 400 or 300 yards.”

Despite the loss, Zajkowski still has a great deal of optimism for the rest of the season.

“We still have a great chance of winning conference if we win out, which is very possible with this team,” he said. “What’s great now is that it’s all up to us. We don’t have to worry about who beats who.”

Zajkowski and the 2-2 Saints next face off against St. Francis (Ind.) on the road before returning back to O’Laughlign Stadium for their Homecoming game against Taylor (Ind.) on Oct. 17.