Hartford Public football continuing to grow on and off the field with new coach Courtenay Jackson

Courtenay Jackson was an assistant last year for longtime Hartford Public football coach Harry Bellucci, who retired after coaching football in Hartford for 42 years.

“I got a chance to see what it was, to sit back and watch and say what would I do a little bit differently and what I realized was Bellucci did so much, I needed more help,” Jackson said. “So I went and got partners like the Urban League, Abdul[-Rahmann Mohammad] from My Peoples Clinic [in Hartford], they come and talk to the guys. We’re all focused on the academic side and holding ourselves accountable.”

Jackson, the director of the North Hartford Promise Zone in the mayor’s office, which supports health, education, public safety, economic development and housing initiatives in the North End, is in his first year coaching the team at Hartford Public after Bellucci retired after last season.

And after a 26-0 win over Tolland Friday, the Owls are 4-1, doubling their win total from last year.

Jackson, who played football in high school and college and coached Hartford youth football for years, brought in the Urban League - which has a program called “Project Ready” to prepare students for college - for study halls for his players. He has Mohammed, the executive director of My People Clinical Services, a community-based social service organization, talk to the players every Thursday during a team dinner.

“We talk about leadership, how do you deal with failure, how do you deal with success, how do you hold yourself accountable – just having open and honest conversations in a safe space,” Jackson said. “All of that stuff is leading to positive things on the field.

“The kids have always been athletic but the lack of experience, focusing and locking in – I tell the kids, ‘Success is a bridge, at school, at work, at home, on the practice field – if you slack off in any of those areas, the bridge is going to fall.’ They’re starting to commit to what we’re doing, so we’re really excited.”

On Friday, senior quarterback Jansyn Booth had three touchdowns, completing 7 of 14 passes for 132 yards. He and senior running back and linebacker Zyon Hymes transferred from Bloomfield and neither are surprised that the Owls are 4-1.

“Probably more surprised with the 1,” Booth said. “We came here expecting to go undefeated. This is a new team, there’s a lot of new players, but we’re building each week.”

Was this their best game?

“Not yet,” Booth said.

So far? No, Booth and Hymes said.

Booth threw his first touchdown pass in the first quarter, a 27-yarder to Jayvon Taylor and Christopher Thorpe had the extra point. The Owls made it 14-0 before halftime when Booth hit Trevon Ortiz with a 15-yard pass and Thorpe’s kick was good.

Eli Perry hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Booth in the third quarter and Deyshawn Smith had a 9-yard run to complete the scoring with 30 seconds left in the game.

Hartford Public’s defense kept Tolland, which lost its fourth straight game, in check.

“From the first play, we was locked in, doing our jobs,” Hymes said. “We had picks. We was keeping pressure on the quarterback and the running game, we were stopping it real early, so I’m real proud of the defense.”

Hartford had a number of penalties, but Booth said he was impressed with how his teammates reacted to them.

“Everybody stayed disciplined,” he said. “We had a lot of calls that were on us. Everybody stayed out of their head and stayed disciplined and that helped a lot.”

The Owls are halfway through their season and no doubt looking toward post-season play. But Jackson is looking beyond that for success.

“In my mind, the season isn’t over until I see what goes on with my seniors in March or April, that’s when I acknowledge whether we had a successful year or not,” he said. “Whether we win or lose, at the end of the day, it’s what happens to those seniors and the next guys that are coming up.”

Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.