Ok I have to comment on this.
And I really do mean this with all respect and honesty, it is not out of blind loyalty but my objective opinion. Please read this in the spirit of friendly discussion and honesty because it is not meant to fan any fires.
Petew is right on about Nichols, he is a very good coach with a group of good coaches around him. St.X just plain beat Manual that night in the game.
Nichols' team just pounded Male two weeks before, that doesn't mean that Bob Redmen can't coach anymore! St.X beat Male worse than we did and beat us twice that kinda tells me that Glaser has a pretty talented group of kids this year, not that Nichols is a bad coach. It is an unfair label you are trying to place on one of the best young coaches in the state and I don't think that PeteW is too far off at all. When I first posted on this board in 2001 many X H and T fans (not Oxnard though) made me feel like a win over Manual as a preseason given too them and I was fool hearty to believe it could be any other way. But as Manual has become an annual top ten team instead of praising Nichols the trend is to bad mouth him.
The only reason I can think of this is because many see Manual as a threat. Manual has a well earned reputation in educational achievement and a top ten 6A football program. Many parents like mine that are not especially wealthy see Manual as a top school with a football program that churns out d1 College caliber players, with more National Merit Semifinalist then any of the Catholics schools, as an equal option which has the added bonus of being free of tuition. My brothers and I are from a long line of Catholic kids that played for Manual whose parents worked hard and would have sent us to Catholic schools if they had too but were lucky enough that we got into Manual. And that is what is scary and dangerous for some, the fact that Manual is having success in football makes Manual a double threat to schools that charge tuition. That is why fans, parents and coaches at St.X were so happy about beating a team that has not beat them in 14 straight games. And so I think Pete is right about the smear campaign against Manual and Nichols, people are scared of a team and a coach that has not really even rivaled them yet for wins, titles or anything else on the football field, just because Joe is talented enough that he one day could lead a Manual team back to the title game.
St.X won last week because as a team they played like the Best team in the state down to a man. Glaser didn't run any miracle plays or create new type of defense, the players on the field made plays and that is what happened. Good luck to the Tigers and win the title for the best district in 6A!:thumb: