Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

For just the fifth time in 73 years City High has hired a new football coach.

City High announced the hiring of former Des Moines Roosevelt head coach Mitchell Moore as its new head football coach pending approval of the school board.

Moore replaces Dan Sabers who stepped away after 20 seasons as head coach last month and becomes just the fifth coach at City High since 1947.

Moore is a graduate of Ballard High School and Wisconsin-Whitewater where he was a three-year letterwinner helping the Warhawks to a 49-3 record.

As a player and later an assistant coach, Moore appeared in six Division III national title games at Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater, winning a title as a player and three more as an assistant coach.

Moore also had assistant coaching stings at Wauwatosa West High school in Milwaukee, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Iowa State University where he served as Director of High School Relations.

In three seasons as a high school head coach Moore has directed a pair of impressive turnarounds.

After going 1-8 in his first season as a head coach at Greene County High school in 2017 Moore led the Rams to an 8-2 mark and a spot in the Class 2A playoffs in 2018 while earning regional coach of the year honors.

In his first season at Des Moines Roosevelt in 2019 Moore led the Roughriders to their first playoff appearance in 23 years and was named Region 1 coach of the year.

Des Moines Roosevelt tied or broke 17 school records during its 6-4 2019 season which was the program’s third winning record in 25 seasons.

Roosevelt was 1-1 this season with a loss to West Des Moines Valley and a win over Des Moines East when its season was suspended in September after Des Moines Public Schools went to online only classes.

Moore takes over a City High program that has won two games each of the past four seasons but was regularly a state title contender under Sabers.

Sabers won 141 games as head coach at City High including an unbeaten 14-0 state championship season in 2009.

That season was the last time an Eastern Iowa team won the Class 4A state title.

City High played for the state title again in 2010 and won eight or more games four times from 2011-2016.

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