You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.. The 33rd Annual ToiletBowl took place on a gorgeous fall day and you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting : Sunny, crisp and cool, and windier than the seat of Scott Willard's pants.

Like all ToiletBowl's, this one too was not without some controversy as I, for the first time in my life had to tell Billy Davie to calm down. That alone says “unreal” to me.

Along with the perfect setting, the teams were evenly matched as the computer handled the draft extremely well. There were a few no-shows, so Poobah had to switch a few players to even the numbers. There were many concerns by players that the teams didn't look evenly matched, but sometimes the computer DOES know best. This game was straight down the line and it came down to who wanted it the most.

With a flip of the coin, Quagmire had first possession on the twenty. QB Jeff Hill couldn't get anything going under the constant barrage of Plunger assailants. Quagmire went three and out and had to punt. That's ok, the first series is for shaking out the cobwebs. Cesspool took this philosophy to heart and they also went three and out. Aside from another stellar sideline sneak play by Scott Willard, there wasn't too much offense either way. Every other play there did seem to be a 10-20 reception by the Plungers as they were having more success moving the ball.

That's pretty much how the first quarter went. At the start of the second quarter a botched Quagmire play resulted in Rob McGlasson receiving a 10 yd pass from Jeff Hill. With plenty of blocking, Rob made it into the endzone and the Basins thought they struck first. The only thing is that referee Ken Wilbanks noticed Rob had no flag and called the play a “do-over”. We can do that in the ToiletBowl...do-overs. This one will go down in TB lore as the game that should have been won by the Basins but was ruled void on a technicality. I can say that, because I agreed with Swill on the call.

On into the second quarter there was little offense until Poobah took the reigns of the Mighty Basin Machine and promptly marched his team down the field. Quagmire seemed to get locked down on a long 2nd and 20 when the Basin O Line (Mike McGlasson and Jeff Tankersley) held the pocket intact form Poobah. The Plungers defense was formidable. With the pocket closing Poobah scampers for a 35 yd run with some spectacular running if I might add. On the goal line, Poobah finds Jeff Hill in the end zone for the score. Touchdown Basins.

The extra point run by Scott Lee made the score Quagmire 8 Cesspool 0. And that's how we went into halftime.

After the break the Plunger Nation was revived and motivated Cesspool into action. The Plungers began to move the ball and eat up precious time off the clock. Cesspool struck first on a 38 yd TD reception by Cody Willard. Forgive Poobah but he can't remember the PAT but the score was Quagmire 8 Cesspool 7.

The Basins had work into the wind which made passing extremely difficult. On the second play for Quagmire Poobah heard a significant pop in his hip and had to pull himself out of the game. The Basin offense stalled at this point and just couldn't get things back together.

Cesspool struck again at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 23 yd reception by Jason Crawford....yes, JASON CRAWFORD. PAT again not remembered by Poobah which made the score Quagmire 8 Cesspool 14.

Solid Plunger defense razzled the Basin offense as they couldn't muster an effective solution to the “swarm” rush. The only real offense came from the defense as they pushed the Plungers back in the Basin end zone and forced QB Scott Green out of bounds, resulting in a safety. Quagmire 10 Cesspool 14.

With time expiring, Cesspool smelled a win and the cheers and jeers grew louder as frustration mounted in the Basin huddle. Every pass was met with a fervent Plunger defender and Quagmire just couldn't get into a rhythm.

With 40 seconds left in the game, TB legend Bill Willard made a one play “statue of liberty” performance as he resurrected his QB skills. After that, Ken Wilbanks came in and stepped in a QB being forced out of the pocket with a 10 yard gain.

As time expired, Basin heads went down and Plunger fists went to the air as goal posts were torn down and fans rushed the field. The final score, Quagmire 10 Cesspool 14.

MVP's named were Cody Willard for Athletic Prowess and for the TRIFECTA, Richie "Big Momma" Willard for the Trash Talk MVP.

Poobah wants to thank each of you who came out and supported the game despite the recent adversities. It's one thing to play a game like this....it's another to come out to play for fun. I'd say everyone had a pretty good time.

Thanks to all who came out and especially to you newcomers and those who came back to the game. Special thanks to Bill Willard and Ken Wilbanks for helping out with the calls on the field, and to my pops, Bill Willard Sr. and Murray (Casey Willer) for filming. Most of all, Thank God for getting you through another year of the ToiletBowl and allowing you to have at least one day of fun....and insignificance.

Until next year,

Landon "Poobah" Willard
1996 ToiletBowl MVP