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Cottonwood Heights • As Brighton soccer star Ben Fankhauser navigated the halls of his school on a recent Monday morning, it seemed as though he had a greeting and a smile for nearly everyone.
The center midfielder is well known at the school where he is not only a 4.0 student, but is the latest member of a soccer-playing family that includes brothers Nate, Taylor, Seth and Alex as well as sister Sarah, a junior who played for the Bengals last fall.
Taylor was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Utah in 2011 and currently plays on the BYU soccer team with Seth. Ben plans to join his brothers on that team after serving an LDS Church mission.
The 5-foot-4, 145-pound Fankhauser has always loved sports. He played baseball, soccer and basketball, but soccer was his favorite.
"I grew up watching it professionally and playing in the back yard," he said. "It was the most fun."
Fankhauser helped Brighton to the 5A championship game a year ago, where the Bengals lost 2-1 to rival Alta. He is a major reason why the team is among the favorites to win the state title this year.
"We have got a great pool of players," he said of the Bengals. "We have kids who come in and kids who stay here who are skilled. We have great coaching with good team orientation and structure. We win as a team, lose as a team and persevere as a team."
As a center midfielder, Fankhauser is in the middle of the action, both offensively and defensively.
Fankhauser was Brighton's leading scorer a year ago, which Bengals coach Tom Cushing calls pretty unusual for a midfielder.
"He is a skilled player with both feet," said the veteran coach. "He has great instincts and is used a lot of different ways."
Fankhauser likes playing in the middle.
"Everything comes through you on the attack and you have some structure on the defense," he said. "You are always involved in the play. The goal is to get assists."
Fankhauser is small of stature, which is less of a problem in soccer, but still changes the way he plays.
"The big guys are faster and more physical," he said. "They body people off the ball. I have to be small and quick to be able to get around them. ... You play a smarter game when you are smaller. You can't go into every tackle, or you are going to get hurt or wrecked."
Fankhauser said it seemed weird to play longtime rival Alta in the preseason instead of twice in league play and perhaps at state. The Hawks dropped down to 4A this season. Brighton and Alta tied 2-2 last week.
Cushing is optimistic about his team.
"I don't look at the long term with things," said the coach. "I try to stay in the moment. The goal is to get better and to improve things by the end of the year. We try to stay away from the proclamation of greatness."
No one is proclaiming the Bengals great yet. It's a long season with powers such as Lone Peak, Layton, Hunter, Viewmont, Lehi and Copper Hills figuring to be in the mix.
But having the latest Fankhauser brother on the team as a senior captain certainly shouldn't hurt.
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Soccer power rankings
Class 5A 1. Lone Peak 2. Brighton 3. Layton 4. (tie) Viewmont, Lehi, Hunter, Copper Hills Class 4A 1. (tie) Skyline, Alta 3. Maple Mountain 4. Provo 5. East Class 3A 1. Juan Diego 2. Dixie 3. (tie) Logan, Park City, Snow Canyon Class 2A 1. (tie) Waterford, Rowland Hall 3. (tie) South Summit, Delta 5. (tie) Summit Academy, Manti, American Leadership Academy
Rankings are based on votes from coaches