Bogosian's ability left winning legacy

Most of Massena native Ike Bogosian's sporting world now revolves around watching two of his sons compete at high levels of hockey.

His son Zach plays for the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers and another son Aaron is a forward on the St. Lawrence University men's hockey team.

But Bogosian himself also was quite an athlete in his youth and was one of the best football players in the area during his own high school career at Massena in the mid-1970s. Bogosian played under legendary coach Mike Nicholas and never was on the losing end of a game with the Red Raiders during his three-year varsity career.

He was the team's Most Valuable Player during his junior year in 1976, but left the school a year early to attend the Kent School in Connecticut.

Prior to leaving Massena, Bogosian also made his mark by playing basketball in the winter and three sports at the same time in the spring: baseball, track and field and lacrosse. He made it to the state meet in track and field as part of a 400 relay squad and also in the 100- and 200-meter sprints.

Bogosian had an impressive career at Massena, but at the Kent School he's not only a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame, he's also regarded as arguably the finest football player in school history.

Just as with Massena, Bogosian never lost once in a football game with the Kent School, leading the team to a 16-0 record in the 1976 and 1977 seasons. In a game in Brooklyn against Poly Prep in 1977, he scored both of Kent's touchdowns with a 22-yard reception and a 92-year interception return as the team earned a 12-6 upset win.

Bogosian initially decided to attend Boston College to play NCAA Division I football but wound up transferring to Syracuse University where he played three seasons for the team then known as the Orangemen.

He suffered his first loss on the football field at the Division I level, but Bogosian did play a key role for Syracuse in his first season, 1979, when he made 29 tackles and 32 assists as a defensive back for a team that reached the Independence Bowl, beating McNeese State 31-7.

Bogosian was a co-captain with future New York Giants running back Joe Morris in his senior season at Syracuse, 1981, the first year the program was led by coach Dick McPherson.

Today, when he's not watching his sons play hockey, Bogosian helps his brother, Garvis, run the family business: B.C. Cleaning, a company in Massena that specializes in carpet cleaning and floor covering.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com.