Anthony Totri
ASU Student Journalist

Family first: A Brophy freshman taking the school by storm

December 4, 2017 by Anthony Totri, Arizona State University


At 2 years old toddlers aren’t doing many extravagant things other than learning to stand upright and expand their vocabulary. Two-year-old Denzel Burke surpassed those ideals by grabbing a tiny basketball and finding a way to dunk on a youth-sized plastic basketball hoop.

It may have been nothing to call ESPN about, but Denzel’s father, Zafiro Burke, knew his son would accomplish greatness in the realm of sports.

Except Denzel wouldn’t leave his success strictly to the court. He has found success in an array of settings, but there is one that particularly drives him – the football field.

Breaking Barriers

Brophy College Prep has been home to a number of Division I football players, including Devon Allen, Trent Murphy, Isaiah Oliver and an abundance of others. However, few if any of them did what Denzel Burke did this past season.

Burke became the latest Bronco freshman to start on the varsity football team.

In his first year as a high school cornerback Burke logged 25 total tackles, two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Zafiro said he remembers getting the call from head coach Andrew “Scooter” Molander that ultimately changed Denzel’s first year at Brophy far beyond his wildest dreams. Molander called Zafiro asking to see if Denzel wanted to join the team on their trip to Northern Arizona University for a seven-on-seven tournament.

“I was not expecting it, my son was not expecting it, we didn’t plan on that,” Zafiro said.

Nevertheless, Denzel pounced at the opportunity and the rest was history.

At the time he was 14 years old, years away from getting his driver’s license, matching up against athletes who were just months away from heading to a university.

The challenge would have been difficult for most, especially paired with the rigor of freshman year, but Denzel said it was never about finishing. Rather it was all about thriving.

“I just love the passion to just go out there and hit somebody,” Denzel said. “To be able to score touchdowns and just pick people off.”

Lining up across from a wide receiver in the midst of game was Denzel’s primary role this past season, however, he’d rather be somewhere else – lining up as the receiver.

Zafiro made it known that the caveat to his son playing varsity was that Denzel would not play offense until next season.

Listed at 160 pounds Zafiro wasn’t about to let his son take shots from 250 pound linebackers this early in his high school career.

Even so, Zafiro said he knows his son will have no trouble taking cornerbacks by storm next season.

“He’s an athlete, he’s determined, he learns the fundamentals quick and then he adds that flavor of his own while he’s doing it,” Zafiro said. “And people will say ‘oh man, he’s good, he’s that,’ but in reality he’s just determined.”

The benefit of being on varsity meant after-school practices opposed to the freshmen schedule of 6 a.m. practices. However, with a varsity roster spot came the requirement of taking the seventh period football class.

The time spent in class is typically spent in the weight room or preparing for upcoming games.

With an abundance of time dedicated to football, Denzel had to take extra steps toward translating his on the field success to the classroom.

“Since I came here I knew it was going to be a hard school,” Denzel said. “So I try to take advantage of my break and lunch time to finish all of my homework before I go out to practice.”

Despite a memorable first season for Denzel, the Broncos finished 1-9 and Molander recently stepped down as head coach.

 The glue

The hustle and bustle of his freshman year hasn’t kept Denzel from remembering those who have been there for him since the start – his family.

“My dad is my best friend; everyday he’s talking to me how life goes. What decisions to make and what the right decisions are to make,” Denzel said.

The bond the two have is seemingly an aspiration for any son and father, and Zafiro said his love for Denzel is greater than any game-saving interception or buzzer beater three.

“Bigger than this world, that’s just bottom line. He’s my seed, he’s the seed that I planted and the seed that grew and he’s my guy,” Zafiro said.

Despite his son playing varsity football, Zafiro found his way to the majority of the freshmen football games.

Arms crossed looking onward Zafiro cheered on his son’s friends and likely future teammates.

One of the staples of Brophy football is the pregame prayer and the postgame prayer in the Brophy chapel.

Being that faith plays an imperative role in Denzel’s life, Zafiro said it was important for the Burkes to find a community as tightly knit as Brophy for his son.

“I just leave everything in God’s hands,” Zafiro said. “Whatever the future brings is God’s plan. I’m just the taxi driver, I take him from point A to point B.”

 While Zafiro may be the taxi driver, Denzel’s mother, Deyanira Burke, is ultimately the one who is constantly keeping the car running.

Deyanira is responsible for the “behind the scenes” work that keeps Denzel going down the successful path he’s on.

 “She’s my wife, she’s the mother of my son,” Zafiro said. “On a daily basis when she gets up in the morning and preps us up for the day with meals, breakfast and all of these different things, that’s the behind the scenes things that people don’t know. She puts in a lot of work.”

With family assisting in seemingly every aspect of Denzel’s ongoing journey, Denzel has quickly realized where he wants that journey to continue.

“I want to go D1,” Denzel said.

Ever since he was grabbing flags off opponents in his youth flag-football games has Denzel known what he wants to be doing after high school.

Although playing Division I football is Denzel’s goal, Zafiro has a different aspiration for his son throughout his four years as a Brophy Bronco.

“My goal for him is to build his own identity,” Zafiro said.

 Next step

With the football season having come to an unfortunate end for the Broncos, Denzel has set his focus to his next venture – basketball season.

Justice Navarra, one of Denzel’s teammates on the basketball team, said he sees what separates Denzel from everyone else.

“Denzel Burke is determined,” Navarra said. “You could see that Denzel wants bigger things.”

Zafiro has an idea for what those “bigger things” might entail.

“The goal is to break every barrier that this school has,” Zafiro said. “I think with his work ethic and determination that he has and his self-drive, I believe he is going to do something special.”

However, Denzel’s place on the court goes hand and hand with his ability to lock down wide receivers on the field.

“Denzel is a defensive guy, and I think it’s that defensive mentality, like ‘you’re not going to score on me, I’m with you all game’,” Navarra said.

In fact, head coach John Burns said Denzel’s defensive presence is exactly what caught his attention during tryouts.

“I think it’s his football background that’s helping us out,” Burns said. “That’s what attracted him to us to bring him out to the freshmen squad. The fact that he played varsity football this year as a starting defensive back for them. He brings a mentality of a higher level of competition and we wanted that at this level.”

To go from varsity football to freshmen basketball may seem like a downgrade for some, yet Denzel hasn’t played organized basketball for over two years.

Therefore, making the basketball team in any form was a success for Denzel.

Brophy’s freshmen basketball squad has a multitude of athletes, but Denzel brings a dynamic to the team unlike most others.

“His on-ball defense is what we’re excited about, and then we’ll develop the other skills like help-side defense and his ability to defend as part of a unit,” Burns said.

Defense may be the primary reason Denzel was brought on the team, but that doesn’t guarantee him a spot in the starting five, especially with him in the process of developing a reliable jump shot.

However, Denzel said he knows the price he may pay while going through the growing pains of regaining a rhythm on the court. For Denzel it’s not strictly being the all-star that matters, he’s got his sights on a higher role.

“I try to be a leader in myself every day, on and off the court,” Denzel said.

Brophy’s goal for its students is for them to embody being “Men for Others”, and coach Burns said he believes Denzel is well on his way to living out that mentality with the way he carries himself.

“I hope by being part of this community and recognizing that the Men for Others is not just a statement, that it’s a way of life,” Burns said. “I hope that has fueled his faith a little bit.”