Bloomington Brings Back Markham to Coach

Don Markham has begun a second stint as Bloomington High’s football coach after the Colton Unified School District approved his hiring as a replacement for Stewart Roper, who resigned several weeks ago after inconsistencies were discovered on his resume.

Markham, who led Bloomington to Southern Section titles in 1994, ’96 and ‘97, had expressed interest in coaching the Bruins again after Robert Kistner resigned in April. But the position went to Roper, who previously coached at Blythe Palo Verde.

Roper was on the job about a week before he resigned. Bloomington Principal Ignacio Cabrera, who declined to elaborate on the resume discrepancies, said Roper also felt pressure from a community largely supportive of Markham. Roper could not be reached for comment.

Markham, who has a 274-78-1 record and four section titles in 30 years of coaching, went 13-9 at Rialto over the last two seasons. He was fired in May because he told school officials he could not commit to staying through the coming season.