Her younger brother had just died, and everyone was talking about how much he loved football. So Jennifer Albrecht did the only thing that seemed to make sense.

She showed up at football practice.

Drew Albrecht was a 15-year-old sophomore-to-be at Bothell High School when he became ill with bacterial meningitis in July 2004. He apparently contracted the disease at a football camp that summer. On a Monday, he came home complaining about a pounding headache. He died two days later.

When Bothell started spring football practice this year, Jennifer, then a junior, told coach Tom Bainter she wanted to play.

"My view of it, [Drew] basically died doing [football]," she said. "He had just started playing football and he never got to finish it. I thought it was something cool to do for him. It was totally in his honor, putting his name back in the football program."

She said her brother was an inspiration.

"He was an all-around, good-hearted, honest guy," she said, "a friend to everyone."

She showed up every day this spring, practicing as a free safety and wide receiver, intent on playing football this fall. Of course, it wasn't easy.

The first time she put her football pads on, she remembers "running to the locker room, like five times to make sure nothing was in the wrong place."

A lot of jokes came her way one practice when she accidentally wore a pink shirt underneath her jersey. And some of the boys didn't know how to react to playing against a girl.

"I'm the girliest person you'll ever meet," she said.

But she learned the game and felt supported by most teammates. After spring ball ended, Jennifer wrestled all summer with whether to play football this fall. Her mind changed "minute-by-minute," said her father, Ron.

In the end, she decided against it and turned out for volleyball instead. Now a 17-year-old senior, she has been voted team captain.

She said meningitis vaccinations are "completely worth it."

"My dream is volleyball," said Jennifer, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter for the Cougars, who are 2-0 in the KingCo 4A Conference with a match tonight against Ballard. "I thought a better way to honor my brother was to pursue my dream of volleyball, just like he would want me to."

Islanders band caught on film

A crew from the British network Sky Sports was at the Bellevue-at-Mercer Island football game last Friday night filming for a documentary on American football that will be aired during Super Bowl week.

One of the pregame attractions for the film crew at Mercer Island was the 260-member Islanders band that marches from the school to the field before kickoff.

The film crew went to the UW-Notre Dame game Saturday and the Seahawks game Sunday to complete a football weekend trifecta.

Times staff reporter Craig Smith contributed to this report.