Centennial added artificial turf to its home stadium this year.

After six seasons, Butch Self's tenure as Centennial's football coach has come to an end.

Self went 10-40 with the Eagles, who finished 0-9 and 1-8 in the last two seasons after dropping from 6A to 5A.

“The district wanted to go in a different direction, and I obliged and stepped aside,” said Self, who replaced longtime coach Chris Knudsen (158-158 in 32 seasons). “The last two years have been tough, so I understand it. Hopefully the next person can get it over the hump again.”

The Eagles have struggled with turnout. Self said the program was “on the bubble” of fielding three teams during his tenure, but settled for two. Turnout was about 65 this past season.

“This used to be a school where putting three teams on the field was pretty easy eight years ago,” Self said. “It's kind of hard to build because you're having to play kids who really should be JV kids, probably a year early.

“We had a bunch of kids that came out in the spring, and then they just never returned. Some of them moved. That's one of the things here, you have a lot of population shift.”

Self tried to boost interest among young students by helping start the Mt. Hood Youth Football League four years ago. Centennial, David Douglas and Gladstone youth teams played in the four-program league with Sandy, which was replaced by Colton this year.

Participation fees for Centennial youths are about $170 per player, roughly half of what they were previously paying in the Tualatin Valley Youth Football League.

“This area could not afford $300 a kid to play football,” Self said. “We were just pricing kids out here. We had to make a change. We made some growth here, but maybe not as fast as I was hoping.”

Self said he believes the league will stay together.

“Other schools have reached out to us to possibly join,” he said. “I think if we could have a league with six to 10 programs, it would be solid. We're not looking to recreate Tualatin Valley football, we're just trying to find a place for East County kids and other programs where money is a little bit of an obstacle to get kids out playing.”

Self said he plans to continue coaching. He was the head coach at Estacada, going 3-16 in two seasons (2005-06), and has assisted at West Linn, Glencoe and Sandy.

“I'm not done coaching,” he said. “I've had a few people reach out. I'm going to look. I'm ready to be an assistant for a while.”

Tigard search

Tigard, which played last season under interim coach Ken Feist, has opened its coaching position.

Feist, who joined the staff as the freshman coach last year, became the interim coach after John Kemper (21-15 in four seasons) resigned in April. Under Feist, the Tigers went 5-6 and lost to Sherwood 43-0 in the 6A quarterfinals.

“We really valued Ken stepping in and all the hard work and planning he did,” Tigard athletic director Ryan Taylor said of Feist, whose senior son, Jake, was the team's starting quarterback last season. “To be able to get a win in the first round of the state playoffs was a pretty big deal for us.”

Taylor said that opening the job after the season was the plan all along and that it didn't reflect on Feist's performance.

“It gives us a much better timeline to set up the next head coach,” Taylor said. “Ken is trying to have everything in the best shape he can to hand off to the next person.”

Feist, a sergeant in the Beaverton Police Department, could remain on the coaching staff, according to Taylor.

“We have a bunch of coaches on the staff that we'd love to keep around,” Taylor said.

Tigard will keep the position open until Jan. 5 and is looking to make a hire by the end of January. Taylor said that the school is hopeful of hiring a coach that works on the campus.

“If you can get that, then that's a bonus,” he said.

Roseburg vacancy

Roseburg is looking for a coach to replace Dave Heuberger, who resigned late last month. He was not with the team in the final three weeks of the season.

The Indians went 21-48 during Heuberger's eight-year tenure, including 2-7 last season. Heuberger was named the 6A co-coach of the year in 2021, when Roseburg finished 9-2 and reached the second round of the 6A playoffs.

Heuberger succeeded Thurman Bell, who compiled a 332-154-1 record in 45 seasons at Roseburg. Heuberger joined the Indians from 5A Springfield, where he went 35-10 in four seasons, including a state semifinal appearance in 2014.

Notes: Barlow is likely to wait until spring to post its opening for a head coach, according to athletic director Dan Dalzell. The school is looking to hire a coach to work full-time in the building, and teaching jobs and other positions won't be posted until spring. Tracy Jackson resigned as the Bruins' coach. … Corvallis will begin reviewing applications next month as it searches for a replacement for Thomas Casey, who resigned after going 2-7 in his first season.