Once when they were in the third grade, identical twins Eli and Evan Lane of Danville, now 15, switched shirts and seats in their classroom to play a prank on the teacher.
“We thought that was pretty hysterical,” Eli said. “When we were younger, we looked a little more similar than now. We would have gotten away with it if one of our friends hadn’t ratted us out.”
There are pictures of the boys through the years wearing the same clothes, Evan said. Today, that’s only in the form of sports uniforms, including Danville Little Johns football, where one is on offense and one is on defense.
Danville coach D.J. Crane said Eli will start at safety, and Evan will “come in and play receiver a lot this season.”
Evan, at 5-10 1/2, 170 pounds, is slightly bigger than Eli, 5-9, 165 pounds.
Evan’s also one minute older, which used to mean a lot to him.
“When I was younger, I used to rub it in his face a lot: ‘I’m the older twin; you should have to do this.’” Now, he says, “it’s just a number.”
The sons of Mark and Stacey Lane of Danville, the boys’ maternal grandmother was a twin. They come from an athletic family, too. Their father played Danville football, as did their older brother, Alec, 20. A sister, Katelyn, 22, played sports at Danville and just graduated from Arkansas Tech and plans to be a coach, Evan said.
Mark Lane said his younger sons have been competitive from the get-go — about everything, such as “I can brush my teeth faster than you,” Lane said.
Evan had to agree with his dad’s assessment.
“We are really competitive, but it’s friendly competition,” Evan said. If he loses to Eli, “I might be upset for just a few minutes, but we’re happy for what each other can do.”
Eli agreed. “I like being competitive against him — we’re usually competing in anything to a certain extent. It’s different if it means something to us; we’ll lay our heart out to have that satisfaction.”
He said it’s different when he competes against Evan than with Alec.
“It seems like it means more to beat Evan than it does Alec,” Eli said.
Evan said their personalities are a little different in sports and everyday life. Outside of sports, “I’m a little bit more laid back [in everyday life], and he’s a little bit more aggressive,” Evan said.
In sports, the twins’ approach is switched, he said.
Eli said that’s true. “I can get uptight whenever I’m not on the field, … but I try to stay laid-back and concentrate more on what’s happening [on the field] than play with pure aggression.”
Even though Eli and Evan have played football since they were in elementary school, they’ve also excelled in basketball and baseball together.
”We’ve always done the same things,” Evan said.
Evans plays catcher; Eli is a third baseman/pitcher. The twins sat out last year, but Eli said they’ve decided to play this year.
“The first sport I remember playing is basketball — an association called Upward Bound in Russellville,” Evan said. “I started playing around first grade with my brother.” Once they were almost on different teams, but it didn’t happen. “It was going to be hard to play against him,” Evan said.
Eli barely recalls playing T-ball with Evan, but it’s basketball that Eli remembers the most, too. It’s also his favorite sport, and he played point guard for the Little Johns
last year.
They both love getting on the gridiron, though.
“I enjoy just the mentality you have to have to play it and how much work you have to put into it,” Eli said. “You can’t just expect to be good; you have to put work into it.”
“Football’s my favorite,” Evan said, “because I like the competitive nature of how you can have 11 guys on the field — I know in baseball there are nine — but if one guy misses an assignment in football, it messes up the whole play. It’s more of a team sport. You have to have a lot of bonding between the [players]; you have to be a cohesive team.”
Crane said coaching twins is no big deal for him.
“I’m a twin, so it is easy. I have a twin sister,” Crane said. She lives in Charleston.
He said the the boys’ strengths are their faith, commitment and attitude.
“Eli is very strong and intelligent on the football field,” Crane said. “Evan is intelligent on the field and very versatile.”
Being identical twins is an advantage when it comes to playing sports, the teenagers said.
“Playing sports, just knowing each other so well just works so easily between us,” Eli said.
“I think my favorite thing about competing with him is that I know what he’s going to do before he does it, and he knows what I’m going to before I do it,” Evan said. “We do think a lot alike; we do have a lot of the same mindset.”
The best part of being a twin, Eli said, is the closeness, though.
“Having been with him since literally the womb has been the difference; we can do everything together, and I know pretty much everything about him, and he knows everything about me. You always have someone to talk to; you’re never lonely.”
Evan said there’s a flip side to being an identical twin, too. He said his least favorite part is “always having someone there to be compared to.”
And people always want to compare the twins.
The teenagers are good-natured about being so much alike.
“We hop in and joke along with them,” Evan said.
Evan said he has gotten used to answering to his brother’s name, too.
Even their coaches have a little trouble telling them apart, he said.
“Actually, our defensive coordinator and wide receiver coach, Austin McKnight, says Eli-Evan every time he talks to to either of us,” Evan said.
For anyone trying to tell them apart on the field, Evan is No. 1, and Eli is No. 40.
Danville Superintendent Gregg Grant, who is the father of fraternal twin daughters, said the Lane family is entrenched in the Danville School District.
“When I was here as a coach the first time, their dad, Mark, was one of our football players; I had an opportunity to coach him. Stacey was a student here,” Grant said. The boys’ grandmother, Paulette Lane, teaches in the school’s business department, he said.
“I think they’ve not had an option but to be good students; both of them excel in the classroom as well as in athletics. The foundation is there. … They’re great kids, well-mannered. I’d kind of like to have a whole school like them,” Grant said.
Regarding the upcoming football season, Evan said, “I expect it to go pretty well; we have a really good senior group. … They’re going to be the mentors of the team.”
It’s deep in younger members, “so we can run in, run out. I think we’ll have a chance to do something very special,” Evan said.
He said he expects to play a lot, but “I’m going to do whatever’s best for the team.”
Eli was out last year with a broken collarbone that happened during a 7-on-7 tournament at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“It was really heartbreaking,” Evan said.
Eli said he was running a simple vertical route when it happened.
“Me and the safety were looking at the ball and collided; I felt the pain instantly,” Eli said. “I missed [playing football] all last year. Standing on the sideline watching got me ready,” he said. Practice this summer also got him back in the groove. “I got more of a feel of hitting again with full contact. I’m just ready to go out there and win some games with my team.”
Eli said the Little Johns “are going to be a force” this year.
He said he would like to play college sports.
“At this point, I wouldn’t mind where I go to play. I would probably prefer basketball, but if I can get a scholarship to walk on and play football, I’ll definitely be jumping on that opportunity,” Eli said.
Evan’s choice would be football.
“For me to go play college, I think I’d have to grow and get stronger and keep working. I’m going to work my tail off to do it,” he said. “If I don’t make it in the sports world, [I’m thinking about] going into being an emergency first responder. I like high-energy stuff.”
Eli wants to become a mental-health therapist as a first choice, “but if that doesn’t work out, then I’d like to be a coach.”
The boys said the support of their family has meant a lot.
Their father, in addition to owning a flower shop, is pastor at Havana First Baptist Church.
“We have a strong faith,” Mark Lane said.
Eli said he is fortunate to have a “pretty awesome” family.
“We’ve been supported since day 1; they’re always there for us,” Eli said. “They’ll come to every event that they can. They really just make sure we have the best.”
Evan said their parents support them without fail, from getting them to practices to watching them play.
“They say we have to keep up our grades up to play; other than that, it’s all our decision.”
Crane said the brothers make a positive impact on the team.
“They are a joy to coach,” Crane said. “They are both well-spoken young men, but they will also hit you on Friday nights.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.