Jathan Spain settling in, gaining confidence as Tigers starter

If you told Jathan Spain in the preseason he would be QB1 heading into week five, he may not have believed you.

Spain took over for the injured Deklin Pittman in week one and has looked more and more comfortable as weeks go by.

Despite beating St. Charles in the season opener, Spain admits he wasn’t comfortable.

“It took a little bit to get going,” Spain said. “After a couple days of practice I ended up settling in pretty well.”

Spain has led the Tigers to a 2-2 record while completing 25-of-63 passes for 469 yards.

Tigers coach Kent Gibbs has seen Spain grow increasingly more comfortable since taking over.

“I think that’s what you want your whole football team to do,” Gibbs said. “And particularly when you have a kid in there who’s been thrust into what he’s been thrust into. He’s taking coaching well and he’s gotten better and we feel good about where he’s headed.”

Having any starter go down in week one is never ideal, but when it comes to your quarterback, the issue is magnified.

“With the quarterback being a unique position and the captain of everything it does change things for you,” Gibbs said. “It’s got to be next man up, you coach them up and play with confidence and you try and get better every game and that’s what Jathan has done.”

Gibbs said that Pittman’s injury is one that will keep him out for the remainder of the year.

“Jathan is the guy moving forward,” Gibbs said. “He knows that and I think he’ll be ready to go.”

Spain feels his confidence started to grow after the week two loss to Hillsboro in which the Tigers pushed the Hawks to the brink.

“Playing a team that talented, that close, is going to help us the rest of the year knowing we’re a good team,” Spain said. “If we could have won that game it would have been even better.”

The signature win for the Tigers however in the first four games came last Friday when they marched into Park Hills Central and downed the Rebels 48-41.

The win over the Rebels comes the week before the Tigers get set to go to battle with the Jackson Indians on Friday night in Jackson at “The Pit”.

“It was big time,” Spain said. “I’m ready for this week. It was a really good win heading into the Jackson week so we can be ready to go on all cylinders for the most important game of the year.”

Going into “The Pit” is tricky on any opposing team, but Spain knows he and the Tigers will need to keep their emotions in check.

“If we stay out of our heads and focus on the task at hand I think we have an opportunity to win,” Spain said.

Gibbs echoed Spain’s sentiments and hopes his team will be even keeled come Friday.

“The big thing is you don’t get too amped up where you lose your mind at the beginning of the game,” Gibbs said. “Once you get that first play over you have to be focused. I’m not going to say this is just another game but at the end of the day we just need to focus on doing what we do best.”

Kickoff between the Tigers and Indians is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, at Jackson High School.

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