Things have been looking up for Utica so far this season. Utica athletics photo

By Brian Lester 
D3sports.com 

When Braeden Zenelovic entered the transfer portal out of Division I Albany, Utica was on his list of potential landing spots. 

There were a couple of Division II offers on the table, and then there was Utica. Zenelovic, who considered playing for the Pioneers coming out of high school, wasn’t feeling his best the day of his visit. 

“I was sick as a dog, but my dad said ‘no, we aren’t going to reschedule. Let’s just do it,’ ” Zenelovic said. “The visit was great. It was incredibly personable. My 11-year-old sister thought it was the coolest thing. She even got a pair of sunglasses. After that visit, I was all in. It was an easy decision for me to make.” 

Fast forward to late September and there is no question it was the right decision. Zenelovic has played a pivotal role in helping the Pioneers get off to their best start since 2016. 

It’s a 4-0 start that almost didn’t happen. Utica trailed then-No. 25 Union 24-7 at the half last Saturday. 

Rather than give up, the Pioneers rose up and rallied for a 31-24 victory on the road. Zenelovic actually told his team on the way into the locker room that there was no reason why Utica couldn’t score 24 points in the second half if Union had just done it in the first half of play. 

“It was a true statement,” Zenelovic said. “It was just about having confidence in the guys and believing in each other.” 

The belief never wavered. Neither did the team's confidence. The Pioneers were on a mission over the final two quarters of action. 

“It’s pretty amazing,” Utica head coach Blaise Faggiano said. “The guys decided at halftime they were going to walk away with the win. They never once worried. They felt they were the better team and they were going to find a way to get it done.” 

The win was the third decided by single digits for the Pioneers, who saw everything come together in the second half against the Dutchmen. 

Zenelovic completed 21 of his 28 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, Nate Palmer caught a game-tying touchdown pass in the fourth and also scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 43-yard punt return later in the quarter. The defense did not allow a point, forcing six three-and-outs. 

Although Braeden Zenelovic got some snaps with Albany, a Division I FCS program, he jokes that he wishes he'd started his career at Utica. Utica athletics photo

Faggiano has been coaching football for a long time, including a stint at Utica that began in 2007, and his team’s latest win goes down as one of the best he's witnessed. 

“In 15 years, it’s one of the greatest comebacks,” Faggiano said. “We were down 21 to Ohio Northern (in 2016) and beat them. For us to get the stops we needed and see the offense score points, that was big. And you have to love scoring on special teams. You have to talk about Nate. He’s a special player. He's one of the best." 

You have to talk about the offensive line as well. Zenelovic will tell you beating Union doesn’t happen without the big guys up front doing their jobs. 

“I have to give love to those guys. I don’t think I was touched more than one time in my 28 dropbacks in the game,” Zenelovic said. “There’s nothing easier for a quarterback than standing in a clean pocket. We have great receivers, too, a great run game and others who do a heck of a job when their number is called. This offense is a lot of fun.” 

Zenelovic has been instrumental in making that offense fun. He chose to go the scholarship-athlete route out of high school, playing for Albany, an FCS school, but he’s thankful to now be at Utica. 

“I joke all the time that I wish I had come here out of high school, but obviously, everything happens for a reason,” Zenelovic said. “Just being part of something special here and being part of a true family atmosphere, has been outstanding. It’s hard not to love it here. It really is.” 

Faggiano is often asked to describe Zenelovic as a signal caller. And yeah, he can talk about the nearly 1,000 passing yards (947), the impressive completion percentage (64.4) or the seven touchdowns he’s thrown already. 

But Zenelovic's impact is about so much more than stats on a page. 

"Watch him on a Sunday and he’s at our JV games coaching. He’s so into helping the younger guys,” Faggiano said. “Our guys have welcomed him here with open arms. He has a strong arm, he can run the ball deceivingly well and all that is great, but he’s also a great leader, and that’s what you want in a quarterback.” 

Utica has a lot going its way heading into the midway point of the season, and Faggiano points to the 31 seniors on the roster as one of the keys to success. 

“When something special is happening, a lot of things have to come together, and a lot is coming together for us right now,” Faggiano said. “We have 31 seniors and seven of them are fifth-year guys. Having that leadership is big.” 

So is the focus of the players. How focused are the Pioneers? They wouldn’t even let their coach bring up Union and its national ranking  during game prep last week. 

“I tried to talk about Union, and they were like ‘really coach?’ It’s about nameless, faceless opponents," Faggiano said. "Your preparation is what matters. It’s about us. And the guys have bought into that every week. We prepare like every game is a championship game.” 

The Pioneers plan to keep it that way. 

“We take it one day at a time," Zenelovic said. "We believe every game is a big game, and our next game is against Hartwick. That’s a huge game. We have to put our nose down and move forward. We have goals and we truly believe they are attainable. We have teams in our way and we will do whatever we have to do to push past them and push forward.” 

Utica’s game against Hartwick marks the start of Empire 8 play and the Pioneers have every intention of contending for a championship. 

“We have to focus on the daily work and daily grind of the college football season,” Faggiano said. “All eyes are on the Hartwick Hawks. It’s an Empire 8 game. It’s Homecoming. It’s an exciting time. We want to be 5-0 going into our bye week.” 

Utica has no reason to think that can’t be achieved. Especially after how last week played out. 

“There is a lot left in store for this football team,” Zenelovic said. “Coming here has definitely been everything I hoped it would be and everything I felt it would be. That’s the best part about it. I’m blessed to be on this team. We believe in ourselves.”