Like Mother, Like Son: Zeke Funke carries on family football legacy

Amy Funke takes a carry at fullback during a 2003 game. Funke won championships in both of her years playing for the Detroit Danger/Demolition in the NWFL.

When Amy Funke watches her son play, it takes her back.

Isaac “Zeke” Funke is her oldest child, a standout offensive lineman for the Eastside Eagles currently in his junior season. He’s caught the eyes of several prominent college football programs already and dreams of playing on Saturdays.

Amy can be found in the bleachers every Friday cheering Zeke on with abandon. After all, football has always been a major part of Amy’s life.

It began on an early 2002 weekday in Detroit, Michigan.

That’s where Amy lived at the time. While driving home, she turned on the radio.

“There was an advertisement that said Detroit was getting a women’s football team,” said Amy. “I’m not exactly petite, so when I heard that Detroit was starting a team, I just felt like I was made for that.”

Aside from watching the occasional college and professional games on TV, however, Amy’s football knowledge was limited. Her solution? A trip to the bookstore to pick up a copy of “Football for Dummies” and makeshift drills at home with her now-husband, Scott.

“We took the cushions off of the couch in the living room, and [Scott] showed me how to block. We were running 40-yard dashes on the sidewalk in front of the house trying to prepare for tryouts.”

When the day of the tryouts finally came, Amy made her presence felt immediately. She laid a massive “pancake” block, flattening a would-be tackler on her back during one of the drills.

That play alone earned her a spot on the team.

Amy became the fullback for the Detroit Danger of the National Women’s Football League (NWFL). In a wild turn of events, she was suddenly a professional football player.

Amy would play for two years with the Danger, who were renamed the Detroit Demolition in 2003. Amy helped lead the team to back-to-back league championships in her two years in pads.

Amy Funke gets encouragement on the sidelines from her husband during her years in the NWFL.

Detroit defeated the Massachusetts Mutiny 48-30 to win the title in 2002, followed by a 28-21 win over the Pensacola Power to repeat in 2003.

“I remember that second championship against Pensacola well,” said Amy. “The game was played in Nashville at Vanderbilt University, and [Former Tennessee Titans quarterback] Steve McNair actually came to our game.”

Amy still has both championship rings that she earned as part of the 2002 and 2003 Detroit championship teams. As part of the celebrations, Amy and the Demolition were invited to Ford Field to be honored during a Detroit Lions game.

She’d give up the professional football life, however, following the conclusion of the 2003 championship season.

“I was going to try to play a third year, but they started practicing really late at night,” Amy explained. “I had an engineering job, you know, my real job, and it got to be a lot. Trying to go to practice from 9 to 11 p.m. on weeknights and then getting up in the morning for work, it became too much for me.”

Though she retired from her playing career, Amy has remained close to the game of football to this day.

After moving to South Carolina in 2005, Amy gave birth to Zeke in 2006, and her youngest son, Jordan, in 2009.

Both are now heavily involved in football, with Zeke well on his way to playing collegiately.

Amy helped coach Zeke’s 12U team to a championship in 2018.

“Those were some of the best times,” said Amy. “That team was freaking awesome.”

Zeke’s 12U team consisted of several players who have developed into big names in South Carolina high school football — players like Greenville star wide receiver and South Carolina commit Mazeo Bennett, Westside quarterback Cutter Woods, and even some faces that Zeke still sees on the field every day, like Eastside running back Kalvin Banks.

Amy has remained by Zeke’s side through every step of his football journey.

“My mom, she’s helped me train whenever I need to,” said Zeke. “She’s driven me everywhere and always gotten me to practice on time, even when it’s been hard to. If I’ve ever needed training, she always helps pay. We’re very close.”

Amy and Zeke Funke snap a post-game selfie following Eastside’s matchup with Pendleton on August 25, 2023.

And from the stands, Amy watches Zeke following in her unique footsteps. In Eastside’s 28-21 victory over Liberty on Friday, Zeke collected an absurd 10 — yes, 10 — “pancake” blocks against the Red Devils to help lead the Eagles to their first win of the season.

Those “pancakes” are a part of what the 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive tackle has become known for at Eastside, much like Amy at her tryout 21 years ago. He’s a leader for his team, too, the same way his mom was on the gridiron in Detroit.

“We love Zeke and what he brings to the table,” said Eastside head coach Andre Woolcock. “He’s our leader on that offensive line. He gets the guys next to him to play to the best of their abilities.”

“Zeke knows way more about the game than I do at this point,” said Amy, smiling. “So it’s amazing to see him passing on his knowledge and coaching his teammates on the sideline. And those guys, they all trust him. I know that because I hear them say it, even when he’s not listening.”