Both Rose Bowl No. 56s Played for Lake Forest Academy

Bowl games on New Year’s Day used to be one of America’s most favorite traditions.

But with so many games spread out over nearly a month and the implementation of a playoff system in college football, the feel just isn’t the same for most games played that day.

The Rose Bowl has been the lone exception. The grand-daddy of them all still creates passion among fans of the Big Ten and Pac-12.

This year, as Iowa meets Stanford, one player from each school will make his way to Pasadena via quite similar paths. The Lake Forester tells the story of Faith Ekakitie and Wesley Annan.

Wearing No. 56 for Iowa will be Ekakitie, a 2012 graduate of Lake Forest Academy and his ‘56’ counterpart for Stanford, Annan, is a 2015 graduate of Lake Forest Academy.

Both players also grew up in Ontario, Canada, just miles from each other and their families knew of each other.

They are both similar in stature. Annan is 6 feet 4, 280 pounds and Ekakite is 6 feet 3, 290 pounds. They both play defense.

Ekakitie will be the only one seeing action on Friday, however, as Annan is a redshirt freshman from the Cardinal. Ekakitie was a redshirt his first year for the Hawkeyes.

“I think the stars aligned just perfect for it,” said Darrin Madeley, the athletic director at Lake Forest Academy who knows both players. “An Iowa-Stanford game doesn’t come along often, and for it to come along at the Rose Bowl – which is the grand-daddy of all the Bowl games – it’s a terrific thing.”

If they both wind up in politics, Ekakitie may very well have a secretary named Annan, and Annan could have a secretary named Ekakitie.

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