Day 6 -- The Last 2 of 4

Today’s competition may not have been as tight as Syracuse and UConn’s 6 OT battle nor as classic as Hoosiers, but it made me think of both.

I always remember Shooter (Dennis Hopper) moving from a spectator to a coach – and then getting his shot when Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets himself ejected. It didn’t come to a technical foul, but when PSC’s Crystal Leahy (a former Sand Pointer) didn’t show and runner up Tim Ihlenfeld (a current Sand Pointer) came to root on his current and former co-workers we pulled him from spectator to participant.

Time – thus far the most important factor in placement – quickly became a non-issue. If you like tuning into nail-biters check out these times: 43, 42, 42, 42, and 41. Even after timing and pre-grading (dough temperature and size of pizza) only 1 dropped out – the top 4 all went into grading with 45, 45, 46, and 47 points ensuring that the final 2 spots would be ultimately decided on the quality of the pizza.

When all the grading was done Cameron Jackson and Alex Henderson moved on to the Final 4. Cameron’s flawless crust offset his cold dough and Alex’s cheese coverage and clean cook held off Luis Bibiano-Lopez. Luis, long-regarded to be the “Best Tosser in Pagliacci” now has to trade that title in for “Best Tosser to Never Make the Final Four.”

So like the North/East side of the bracket, the two competitors with the longest tenure staved off all the (relative) newcomers and move on to the Championship on Saturday afternoon. The four tossers have a combined 37 years with Pagliacci – so they have made their fair share of cheese pizzas.

Cameron Jackson from Stone Way cooked the best looking pie of the day.

Alex Henderson from the Commissary rounds out the final four.