The Wickenburg community is rallying around 14-year-old freshman football player Tripp Davis, as he undergoes chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
Tripp, a middle linebacker who played in Wickenburg's season-opening 44-0 win over Tuba City Greyhills on Aug. 28, was diagnosed on Sept. 7 after not feeling well.
The family relocated to Phoenix as Tripp undergoes chemotherapy treatments.
A GoFundMe pagestarted by close friend Leigh Shuldberghas drawn an outpouring of support. It has raised more than $43,000.
Several fundraising events are also scheduled to assist Tripp and his family. Both parents have temporarily left their jobs to help their son and rented an Airbnb in Phoenix.
"Myself and the entire family
are just so grateful for the tremendous outpouing of support that happened so quickly," Shuldberg said. "The whole town. It's a big town with a small-town appeal. Everybody knows each other. They all came together to support this kid. All the businesses in town are chipping in and doing some sort of fundraiser. It's just been incredible."
Coach Justin Stangler said Davis wasn't feeling well during the Labor Day morning practice and complained of blurry vision. Stangler sat him down and called his mom.
"He had been having some fatigue issues," Stangler said. "We thought maybe it was about hydrating. But the same symptoms occurred."
The family took Davis to an emergency room for blood tests that indicated he had leukemia. He was immediately transferred to Phoenix Children's Hospital to begin treatment. He is out of the hospital now, but they must remain near Phoenix Children's until at least Oct. 10.
"They started chemo immediately," said Tripp's mom, Stevee Davis. "The prognosis is good, but it's going to be a treatment of 2 or 2½ years. For the first year, they say it's the most intense. Once we get to go home, we'll be traveling to Phoenix once a week.
"I don't know if it's fully hit him. He has good days and bad days. I think the hardest is not being able to do anything, not being able to play football and being out of school and away from his friends,'' she added. "I think that's the hardest. And because his immune system is compromised, he has to stay away from everybody."
Stangler said support for Tripp and his family has been strong.
"The youth (football) feeder teams out here have decals on their helmets (to honor Davis)," Stangler said. "They're all contributing to the cause."
When Wickenburg traveled to Holbrook for a game, the Wranglers wanted to donate to the Holbrook program, but Holbrook officials told them to give it to the Davis family, Stangler said.
"Everybody has been really supportive," Stangler said. "He played in the first game. He got through the first game. After all of this happened, we were like, 'Wow, you tough son of a gun.' "
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Wickenburg rallies around HS football player battling cancer
