Football family affair in Lowe household

It's a typical football Friday at Zak Lowe's house.

A few hours before game time, the 6-foot-2, 275-pound burly Warren offensive lineman is going through his pre-game routine.

"I take an hour nap. I get something to eat," said Lowe, a senior captain. "I put on my Under Armour. I've got my music in. I'm getting pumped up."

Meanwhile, Zak's younger sister Aly, who is a junior at Warren, is also getting ready to head out to the big game.

She's got a routine, too.

She brushes her hair.

She freshens her lipstick, reapplies her eye makeup.

But here's the thing: Aly's eye makeup includes more than just liner, shadow and mascara.

She also applies eye black-as in the grease or strips that football players wear under their eyes to reduce glare on the field.

It's not some kind of fashion statement. Aly actually needs the eye black.

You see, Aly is a football player, too.

In fact, she's as much a part of Warren's varsity football team as Zak.

"This is my eighth year of playing football," Aly said. "I started when I was really young because Zak was playing and I liked it so much that I just kept playing year after year. No one thought I'd ride it through this far, but I have."

With a blond ponytail that sticks out the back of her helmet, Aly made school history this season in a game against Wauconda as the first girl to enter a varsity football game at Warren.

It's quite possible that even more history has been made by the Lowes this season. Zak and Aly, who have spent the past week preparing for the Blue Devils' Class 8A first round tilt at South Elgin on Saturday, could be the first brother and sister in IHSA history to play on the same varsity football team together.

"I'm definitely never going to forget this. Not many guys have the experience of actually playing on the same team on a varsity sport with their sister," Zak said. "We're going to be telling our children about this someday."

What makes the story even more worthy of being retold over and over again is the fact that Aly isn't a kicker.

A vast majority of girls who play varsity football are kickers.

No hitting, no contact, no chance for injuries.

Aly is a cornerback. She hits, and gets hit. And she loves it. Every bit of it.

"My favorite part of football is the tackling, the hitting," Aly said. "It's fun to hit someone to get all your frustrations out.

"It's funny because I can still be such a girly girl at the same time. I really can't help it. I've always been one. I played with dolls growing up and I always wear my makeup. It bothers me when I'm not. I always try to look my best, even if it's when I'm playing football."

But Aly isn't out to just look good, she wants to play that way, too.

So far, so good.

As a freshman, Aly was in a pool of 140 kids fighting for 100 spots.

She made the cut.

"The coaches had parents calling in," Aly said. "They wanted to know why their sons got cut and I didn't. The coaches sent out an e-mail to everyone to explain it. It was because I was just better."

Besides experiencing her claim to fame in the Wauconda game, Aly also started every junior varsity game she played in this season and had a whopper of an outing against Libertyville.

"I had a ton of tackles in that game," Aly said. "More than six, for sure. I also broke up some passes. I made a lot of hits. That was a good game."

Aly's best asset is the speed that has made her a star on the track team. It serves as a great neutralizer for her lack of size and strength relative to the boys she defends on the football field.

Aly is 5-foot-5, 130 pounds.

"In youth football, I was actually one of the best players. I could run faster and hit harder than the guys. I think that's because girls mature faster," Aly said. "But now, the guys have gotten faster and stronger and I've kind of reached my (limit). I know I can't match that, but I still try my hardest, I work hard. I haven't quit like everyone thought I would and I think the coaches really notice that and respect that."

Respect is big with Zak when it comes to Aly.

He believes it's his job to make sure Aly is treated with nothing but respect by the other players on the field and in the locker room.

Zak, a two-year varsity starter and all-North Suburban Conference player might be completely focused right now on getting a college scholarship for next year, but he's also always got at least one eye on Aly.

"I've heard other guys call her doll face or just make comments to her," said Zak, who has been contacted by Southern Illinois and South Dakota State, among other schools "And I'll say something to them or I'll stare them down. Some guys will be like 'Why is your sister doing this? Why is she trying to be a guy?' I'm always defending her.

"I'm kind of overprotective of her anyway. Like, in the halls at school, if I see her coming, I'm checking out the rest of the hallway, giving everyone the once over, making sure she'll be OK. I've realized, though, that she really doesn't even need that. She's a pretty tough girl. She can hold her own."

Next year, Aly will be all on her own.

She still plans to play football for Warren. But with Zak in college, she says the experience just won't be the same.

"We're hoping we just keep winning in the playoffs because that will keep our football relationship going longer," Aly said. "We don't want this to end. This has been so fun and it's been great to be on the same team as him.

"The reason I started playing football when I was little was so that I could be around Zak more. He's a great big brother and we're so close. It's going to be different next year when Zak isn't here. I'm really going to miss him a lot, that's for sure."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com