Andy Romike is a Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Combs High School for AZPreps365.

SAN TAN VALLEY - No one fights alone — this is the message that Combs Football coach Greg Dayoob wanted the world to hear after he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2019.

Dayoob, a science teacher, began his tenure at Combs in the fall of 2022 and is the head coach of both the freshman football and wrestling teams.

At the time of his arrival to Combs, Dayoob believed that he had been cured of the cancer he spent the previous several years battling. However, late in his first year at the school, he received the news that his cancer had returned.

“I’ve done chemotherapy for the last six months,” Dayoob said. “It’s a heavy-dose chemo, so I had missed quite a bit of school for that — pretty much every other week.”

In light of Dayoob’s diagnosis and extended absences, the Combs Football Booster Club, run by president Helanea Combs, began work on a fundraiser to help Dayoob in his battle against the disease.

“Coach Dayoob is a beacon for the community and all of the kids he works with,” Combs said. “When we heard of his diagnosis, we wanted to do what we could to help support him, just like we would any of our coaches or any of our players.”

The booster club settled on designing a t-shirt sold on campus with the intent of forwarding all proceeds to Dayoob to assist with his medical expenses. The shirt they ended up selling reads, “Team Dayoob,” and “No one fights alone,” the latter being the motto Dayoob has held since his original diagnosis.

Shirt sold by the Combs Football Booster Club (photo courtesy of Helanea Combs)“I want to spread the message of ‘no one fights alone’ to anyone I can,” Dayoob said. “It’s a good message to hear — whether you’re an athlete, a student, whoever. I think hearing my story and that message — not even being exclusive to me and my battle — is inspiring.”

The fundraiser for Dayoob saw massive support at Combs, though for Dayoob, it was less about the money he was receiving and more about the principle of the overwhelming support.

“I think it impacts you most because it’s a tangible example of their caring, their support,” Dayoob said. “You see all the trouble they went through to do all of this, then they present you with it, and that’s very humbling.”

Dayoob coaching Combs Varisty Wrestling (photo courstesy of Greg Dayoob)

Though his time at Combs has been short thus far, Dayoob’s impact on the people around him is palpable, casting his positive influence not just on the field, the mats or the classroom, but the school and community.

“While Coach Dayoob has only been at Combs for a little over a year, he came in and instantly the kids loved him,” Combs football head coach Levi Hoaglund said. “He is energetic, demanding and a coach that all students can look up to."