JEFFERSON — Caden Duncan has been hired as the new head football coach at Greene County, replacing Mitch Moore.

Duncan was confirmed by Tim Christensen, Greene County CSD Superintendent. Moore accepted the same position at Des Moines Roosevelt after two years with the Rams.

A native of Gowrie and graduate of Prairie Valley, Duncan has been an assistant coach for the past six seasons at both Southeast Valley and Panorama. Along with his teaching duties, he has been the strength and conditioning coordinator at Panorama and coached track.

“The football program (at Greene County) itself has a good tradition and a lot of good players and coaches,” Duncan said. “That includes my former teammate, Cole Jaeschke, so the combination of those things made the job very appealing to me.”

Duncan currently teaches grades 7-12 physical education and health at Panorama and will be the physical education teacher at the middle school in Greene County, along with continuing his work with the strength and conditioning program.

“Strength and conditioning has a huge impact in the game of football,” Duncan said. “The vast majority of the time the bigger, stronger team wins. The most important part of strength and conditioning for me though is the injury prevention benefits. I want to give kids the best possible chance to be successful, which means first and foremost I have to do everything I can to keep them healthy. Then from there it’s about building strength and explosiveness.”

Duncan, who played for two years at Upper Iowa University, wants to begin building relationships with his new team as soon as possible.

“The goal this year, as well as every other year, will be to compete for a championship and to represent our school and community with pride,” he added. “My long term goal is to have a program that is consistently tough and respected. I want kids, when they graduate, to be able to take great pride in knowing that that were a Ram football player and that they are part of that brotherhood forever.”

Greene County experienced a turnaround this past fall, going 8-2 and securing a share of the district title. The Rams reached the playoffs after winning just one game two years ago.

Tyler Miller, who has committed to Iowa State to continue his career, anchors the returning players for Duncan. Miller is a 6-foot-9, 285-pounder senior-to-be who starts along both sides of the line. Classmate Brent Riley is back after throwing for 2,242 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, along with top receiver Carter Morton, who had 36 receptions for 800 yards and seven scores.

“I want to have a football program that is respected across the state and is a program that kids want to be a part of,” Duncan said. “I want the community to be able to take great pride in their football team every year, not just because of win/loss record, but because of how we do things and how we are developing these young men.

“I love coaching at this level because of the development and maturation process that you see from kids. Nothing gives me greater pride than knowing that I’ve had a positive impact on a kid, and to see them grow and succeed in life.”