MADERA - After three straight losing seasons at Madera High School., varsity football coach Scott McKinney steps down. Citing family reasons for leaving, McKinney has had a rough go of coaching at the high school level. In the last three years the Coyote varsity football team has gone 1-14 in the County/Metro Athletic Conference (CMAC), with their lone league victory coming from Madera South last month (48-30).
This season started out with a near riot at a Memorial Stadium scrimmage with Tulare Union where McKinney and the high school administration said the public did not have a right to know what happened or watch a video of the mealy. The season ended with a star football player being removed from the team for illegally accessing the schools attendance records and erasing absences for fellow football players and other athletes.
McKinney's only real success on the football field came in 2007 when he coached the Thomas Jefferson Junior High 8th grade team to a CVAL victory over Sanger. Two years later, after MHS Athletic Director Shane Riddle forced Randy Blankenship to resign as varsity coach, McKinney got a second chance to coach that team as juniors but this time without success.
When Blankenship left the program, Madera High School was a CIF Division 1 team in the Tri-County Athletic Conference. The TRAC is considered to be one of the toughest conferences in the state of California. Under McKinney, the Coyotes have been moved down to Division 3. They went from battling the big Clovis Unified Schools, to getting pummeled by teams like San Joaquin Memorial and Sanger High School.
McKinney leaves behind a program that next year will see 30 returning players of the 53 on this years roster. Word from Madera Unified is that a search will be conducted after the Christmas vacation for a new coach. Bonner Cunnings seems to be the name on everyone's short list as McKinney's replacement. He is currently on staff at Madera High School and coached with McKinney.
McKinney and Riddle were unavailable for comment, but did speak to the Madera Tribune for their story.
