4A Football | A big hit in new home
BOTHELL - Bothell senior Cory Burk didn’t want to leave Daphne, Ala., the small Southern town with the powerhouse football program.
Burk didn’t want to leave his teammates or the coaches who took a chance on him as a freshman, allowing him to make the rare jump to the varsity.
Burk didn’t want to leave behind the Friday evening tailgating with barbecue and crawfish or the Saturday afternoons at the Wal-Mart, hearing “That-a-boy” or “Good game, kid” from every shopper he passed.
But Burk’s father, Bill, was working for Boeing in Seattle. And Cory didn’t want to go through high school without his dad seeing him play even once.
When his dad called from Bothell during Burk’s sophomore year, Burk heard the desperation on the other end of the line.
“Cory, let me watch you play for a year,” Bill said. “And if you don’t like it, you can move back.”
So Burk gave his father this gift: the opportunity to see his son play football, with one major caveat: “If you miss one game, I’m going back.”
No member of the Burk family has missed a Bothell game in the past two years. And don’t count on it happening this weekend, either, when Bothell plays Ferris in the Class 4A semifinals in Spokane at 1 p.m. Saturday.
As little as he is - 5 feet 8, 170 pounds - Burk is a gigantic reason the Cougars have made it this far.
Little man, big impact
When KingCo 4A coaches chose their defensive player of the year, they didn’t go with the leader in sacks (Eastlake’s Cory Mackay) or tackles for loss (Woodinville’s Justin Mann), each of whom measures well over 6 feet and 200 pounds.
They didn’t even go with the league’s highest-rated recruit: Redmond’s Trevor Guyton, a 6-3, 275-pound behemoth who has committed to California.
Instead, they picked Burk, who didn’t land anywhere near the top of the list in tackles or sacks. But Burk, Bothell’s Lilliputian leader, made that great of an impression.
“It’s difficult to be the defensive player of the league when you’re 5-8 and a linebacker,” Bothell coach Tom Bainter said. “But once teams play us, it’s almost unanimous. There’s no question that he’s the most valuable defensive player in the league.”
Burk has seen several players - tight ends, especially - line up across from him for the first time and smile when they see his size. But Bothell’s rivals know better by now.
“Going to his side was taking a big chance,” Eastlake coach Gene Dales said.
Bainter has tried to play Burk at safety, but he doesn’t get involved enough. Burk is too quick, too strong, too smart and too tough for Bothell not to try to make him part of every play. That’s why he’s a linebacker, why he returns kickoff and punts, and why the Cougars make him the offense’s wild card.
“He’s a guy who makes things happen,” Bainter said. “He’s probably the most special defensive player I’ve ever coached.”
So far, college coaches haven’t had the same feeling. No Division I program has called him. And Burk has heard the recruiting mantra: If you’re going to miss, miss big. But that hasn’t dimmed his hopes of playing next year.
“Absolutely not,” he says. “No, sir.”
And no, he will not stop calling you “sir.”
“Sorry,” he says, “I can’t help it. I was raised in Alabama.”
Sweet home Alabama
He misses Daphne. He misses the football, the teammates and the crawfish. He misses the crowds that made every game feel like a playoff game.
In his freshman year at Daphne, which played in Alabama’s largest classification, he was one of four freshmen brought up to the varsity. But his dad’s job took him to Iraq for the year, to work on helicopters.
Cory Burk moved up to starting outside linebacker in his sophomore year, and Daphne went to the state-championship game. Bill spent the season in Bothell working for Boeing.
So Bill starting working on the plan to move the family to him. He knew his son wanted to play for a winning team. When he talked to Bainter, he knew Bothell was the right fit.
Burk, his mom and two brothers made the move. Burk started immediately last season for Bothell. The Cougars lost their first game, 48-22 to Lake Oswego, Ore., so tough a loss that Burk questioned his decision to move.
And as he thought of returning to Daphne, Daphne pressed hard to get him back. Burk’s mom, Lynn, said Daphne coaches and trainers offered him a room in their homes. A former teammate’s dad took the family out to dinner to try to change their minds.
But Bothell’s season quickly turned around, and the Cougars advanced to the state-championship game before losing 21-14 to Oak Harbor. When the season ended, Burk decided he wanted to stay.
He wears his reason for staying. On the end of the belt that hangs off Burk’s uniform, he has taped stripes of blue and white on both sides. On top of the tape, Burk wrote, “Mom.” And on the other, “Dad.”
“Every game,” Lynn says, “He has to have that belt.”
Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com