RB Ante Milanovic-Litre celebrates his first CFL touchdown with QB Andrew Buckley on July 29, 2017 (Photo by Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh)
Ante Milanovic-Litre had one thing in mind when he took the ball on the four-yard line with the end zone in sight.
“Get in. Just cross that plane baby.”
Despite making contact with some burly Hamilton Tiger-Cats defenders prior to the line, he kept his feet churning and plunged forward, with his arm fully extended to cross the plane and score the first touchdown of his professional career.
“I saw some bodies in the hole but, no excuses, I was getting through this time,” recollected Milanovic-Litre. “I just needed to get in there, that was it.”
With a big lead heading into the second half, the Stampeders coaching staff had indicated to the rookie running back that they intended to work on some short-yardage plays.
So when he came into the game in the third quarter, he was ready to pound the rock.
Milanovic-Litre scores his first CFL touchdown on July 29, 2017 (Photo by David Moll)
“I saw Roy [Finch] coming to the bench, so I knew it was my time,” said Milanovic-Litre. “First carry goes by, I got a first down on short yardage. That was the plan coming into the second half — to work on short yardage — so I was happy to get the first down on the first play. No one was subbing me out, so I had a feeling that we were going to go for it again. Just taking the handoff, seeing the hole open up, the big boys did a great job on that and I just wanted to jump in there.”
After hitting the end zone, Litre immediately threw his arms into the air in celebration and followed that by jumping to his feet and spiking the football.
Then came his teammates. Beginning with offensive lineman Shane Bergman, who jumped on the youngster after the play, Milanovic-Litre was greeted with high-fives, congratulations and other praise after his special moment.
“It’s been overwhelming a little bit,” laughed Milanovic-Litre. “I’ve been getting high-fives from everyone. The team is so supportive of each other, we’re always happy to see everyone succeed.”
Milanovic-Litre continued to tote the rock for the rest of the evening, picking up 26 yards on his eight carries.
So far in 2017, the fourth-round draft choice (28th overall) out of Simon Fraser University had seen most of his action on special teams, making a pair of tackles in the four games he’s played.
And with Jerome Messam and Finch firmly atop the running back depth chart for the Stamps, getting an opportunity to take some snaps with the offence was a surprise and a blessing.
“It was awesome to be involved and I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” Milanovic-Litre said. “Having a team play like this and allowing a rookie to get in late in the game, I was just so happy.”
Leading up to the game, the Stamps got to meet and mingle with the 1992 Grey Cup Championship team.
For a 22-year old kid that wasn’t even alive when Doug Flutie led the Stamps to a 24-10 win over the Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup contest 25 years ago, he took their messages to heart and wanted to help put on a show for them.
“I think the whole team is proud of our performance tonight and to do it in front of the guys who won the Grey Cup, it’s a bit a tribute to them,” said Milanovic-Litre. “We’re honouring them tonight and we just want to carry on the Stampeders culture that they established 25 years ago.”