Bloomington’s Football Job Is Given to Roper

Stewart Roper was approved as Bloomington’s new football coach Thursday at a board meeting of the Colton Unified School District.

Roper, who was the coach at Blythe Palo Verde High, replaces Robert Kistner, who resigned in April to spend more time with his family. The Bruins were 0-9 last year.

Some believed the job would go to Don Markham, who was fired as Rialto’s coach in May because he told school officials he could not commit to staying through the upcoming season.

Markham, with a 274-78-1 record in 30 years, won four of his five Southern Section titles with Colton in 1978 and with Bloomington in 1994, ’96 and ’97.

Markham, 62, has been known to move frequently from school to school and publicly criticized some of his Rialto players last season, calling them “a bunch of jerks” in an interview with The Times.

In other personnel moves:

* Krissy Duperron has resigned as girls’ varsity basketball coach at North Torrance to take a job as a varsity assistant at Westchester. Duperron guided the Saxons to a 24-7 record and the Southern Section Division II-A championship game in her only season.

* Matt Dann, a varsity assistant football coach last season at Fillmore High, has been promoted to head coach.