Bradley Central's Javin Burke / Photo contributed by Burke's familyIt's taken only half the prep football season for Javin Burke to not only settle in as Bradley Central's quarterback but to help make the Bears one of the state's most elite offenses. As Bradley continues to rise in the state rankings, Burke is beginning to gain the attention of college recruiters.
Burke accounted for 397 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in the fourth-ranked Bears' 54-28 Region 2-6A win at Ooltewah last Friday. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound junior, who transferred from McCallie prior to spring practice, completed 16 of 23 passes for 296 yards and four scores - with no interceptions - and ran for 103 yards and two TDs on 10 carries.
That performance has earned Burke the honor of Times Free Press prep player of the week.
"When he first came to us, the first thing he did was ask for the playbook to study," Bears coach Damon Floyd said. "That says a lot about him. I knew during spring practice that he could be really special. He's a smart kid who knows how to read a defense and attack it. He understands what we're trying to do on offense and how to execute it.
"He makes the calls at the line and can do it all once the ball is snapped."
Burke scored the Bears' first two TDs with runs of 40 and 4 yards, then added three passing scores in a 27-point second-quarter outburst. The scoring passes covered 63 yards to Saylor Clark, 35 yards to Kannon Hall and 27 yards to Trae Curry - Burke's stepbrother and an all-state junior receiver. He later added a 48-yard TD pass to Hall.
"When I threw the TD to Trae, I knew things were going really well," Burke said. "I actually knew at the spring game that I was picking things up as far as what we wanted to do as an offense. Once we got into 7-on-7 scrimmages, that's when I really started to get comfortable and knew I was ready. I get more comfortable every week, and that makes things come easier for us as a whole team.
"I just want us to go out with the intention that we're going to score every time we've got the ball."
Through the first five games this season Burke has thrown for 997 yards and 11 TDs and run for another 369 and four more scores, leading the Bears to four straight wins by an average margin of 56-19.
Bradley Central is off this week before a pair of huge region games, beginning against rival Cleveland, followed by a road trip to top-ranked Maryville. Burke's dual-threat abilities, and the talent that surrounds him, make the Bears the team most likely to challenge perennial power Maryville.
"He's just a complete player who's going to be able to play quarterback at the highest level," Floyd added. "He's going to get better every week and make us better on offense and as a team. And he's going to have a lot of interest from college teams as they see what he's doing on the field."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.