By Chad Conine

Tribune-Herald staff writer

The District 16-2A roller coaster pulls out of the station tonight, whether the teams involved are ready or not.

Crawford coach Delbert Kelm knows it will be a job just keeping his team’s car on the track.

“It’s going to be an exciting race for the fans,” Kelm said. “It’s going to be hell on the coaches.”

And that’s coming from a coach whose program is expected to be at the top of the heap. Imagine the consternation for those fighting an uphill battle.

In 2007, McGregor and Hamilton each scored surprising knockouts when they eliminated Teague and Mart from the playoffs. Combine that with Crawford’s foray into the third round of the postseason, and the former 21-2A gains a nice chunk of credibility.

Take those six teams — Crawford, McGregor, Hamilton, Clifton, Bruceville-Eddy and Moody — and add Hico and Troy, and the new 16-2A could be a beast.

At least that’s how the coaches inside the loop see it.

One after another this preseason, they talked about how physical the district should be, and they haven’t changed their tune after seeing each other play three games.

“They’re all well-coached teams and they’re going to play a physical brand of football,” Kelm said.

McGregor received the preseason ordination as the 16-2A favorite. Despite stumbling out of the gate in a loss to Rosebud-Lott, that perception hasn’t changed too much, though Crawford is an imposing figure atop the nondistrict standings at 3-0.

Bulldogs coach Tim Seward said that loss “woke up” his team. However, he doesn’t see a whole lot of separation between Crawford and McGregor and the rest of the district.

“The thing that surprised me more than anything is the district seems well-rounded,” Seward said. “Nobody really stands out above the rest.”

Indeed, only Crawford came through the three nondistrict games unscathed. The other seven teams are either 2-1 or 1-2.

Hico appears to be the most exposive team so far as the Tigers erupted for 110 combined points in wins over Palmer and Tolar.

The group of one-win teams includes Troy and Hamilton, both regulars in the playoffs of late.

“I still feel like Troy is one of the teams to beat in this district,” Seward said. “And Hamilton is one of those towns that can get on a roll any time.”

Clifton made a push for the playoffs in 2007 before falling in its final two games against Hamilton and McGregor. The Cubs have waded into the bi-district round a few times over the past decade, which is more than Moody or Bruceville-Eddy have done.

Still, Moody has one of the area’s top rushers in Walter Hammond (484 yards on 55 carries with five touchdowns) and Bruceville-Eddy stepped up it nondistrict schedule to better prepare for the rigors of 16-2A.

“You’ve got to be ready to play each and every week,” Kelm said. “In an eight-team district, there are so many different variables.”

—— WEEK BY WEEK ——

TONIGHT

Clifton at Crawford

McGregor at Hico

Moody at Hamilton

Troy at Bruceville-Eddy

OCT. 3

Bruceville-Eddy at McGregor

Crawford at Troy

Hamilton at Clifton

Hico at Moody

OCT. 10

Clifton at Moody

Hico at Bruceville-Eddy

McGregor at Crawford

Troy at Hamilton

OCT. 17

Clifton at Hico

Crawford at Bruceville-Eddy

Hamilton at McGregor

Moody at Troy

OCT. 24

Bruceville-Eddy at Hamilton

Hico at Crawford

McGregor at Moody

Troy at Clifton

OCT. 31

Clifton at McGregor

Hamilton at Crawford

Moody at Bruceville-Eddy

Troy at Hico

NOV. 7

Bruceville-Eddy at Clifton

Crawford at Moody

Hico at Hamilton

McGregor at Troy