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October 13, 2019

Litre: “it’s Indescribable”

The Croatian Thor brought his own Mjölnir to the office Friday night.

“Any time you get an opportunity to work in the Calgary Stampeders’ offence, it’s just such a deep honour,’’ Ante Milanovic-Litre is saying, while doing a passable Chris Hemsworth, outfitted as he was on rundown Saturday in shades, the trademark long blonde hair and a cut-off-at-the-shoulders smack-in-black Calgary Stampeders’ signature tee.

“It’s indescribable.

“You’re in there with Bo, Dave’s calling the plays, all these crazy receivers. And what can I say about the O-line. Those guys just did a great job of blocking the front level and then our receivers took care of their DBs.

“Yeah, I broke a few tackles here and there but I think the most exciting part was how collective our run game was. It didn’t came down to one guy. It took all 12.”

In a game that, Milanovic-Litre, a special teams warrior of no small repute, led the Stamps in rush yards with 43 during the 30-28 conquest of the Saskatchewan Roughriders at McMahon Stadium, including key runs at table-tipping times.

Think Canadian-bred backs and the immediate image is of a guy bombing straight downhill like Franz Klammer trying to tame the Lauberhorn in Switzerland.

Well, versus the Riders, Milanovic-Litre displayed a nimble evasiveness to go along with the north-south 6-foot-2, 232 lbs hammer.

“Ante,’’ praised Stamps’ running backs coach Marc Mueller, “is just a very good athlete. He’s got great feet. He picks up speed. He can carry a pile.

“He’s probably in that 4.5-4.6 range, so he’s not slow. Just so big, got that good frame to him, a thick dude. Difficult to handle.

“He works so hard. You’re happy for all those guys who step in and play well. When they put in the time then get an opportunity, they don’t have any regrets afterwards.

“Ante played well. Don (Jackson) played well. Terry (Williams) played well. Charlie (Power) played well.

“To see them all get a chance, go in and give us a grab-the-bull-by-the-horns type of thing is great.”

The tone of the entertainment on offer was decidedly abrasive.

“Being able to answer the bell in a game like that … there’s no better feeling,’’ agreed Milanovic-Litre.

“I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They intentionally crossed over our line in warm-up. Then they were trying to start something early in the game.

“But our attitude was: ‘We’re not going to let somebody come into our house and get away with that.’ It really did have a playoff-game feel. Who could’ve written what happened in that first quarter? Just crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone score the way Jamari (Gilbert) did. Unreal.

“This is pro football. Sure you might be able to scheme up on some plays, in some situations, but when they have as much film on us, a lot of what happens is already anticipated. So it comes down to who wants it more. Like two hungry dogs fighting over a bone in an alley.

“So not pretty football, by any means. What it came down to was straight-up street fight.

“And we came out on top.”

As the daylight continues to dwindle, the mercury in thermometers begins to incrementally drop and conditions worsen, the importance of bruising backs like Milanovic-Litre only grow in importance.

“Guys that can carry the pile, tough runners, make guys on the other side think twice about going after them get more and more valuable,’’ reminds Mueller.

“I think all of our backs play a lot bigger than they are.”

Unsurprisingly, Milanovic-Litre simply cannot wait to get back on the field.

“We’re back in first,’’ he noted. “We control our own destiny. Now it’s all about buckling down and holding on.

“I think every running back kind of licks his chops when it’s raining or snowing. The colder the weather gets the more the game goes back to when you were a kid in your back yard dreaming of maybe someday playing in the CFL.

“Not many people want to be out in minus-20, minus-30 temperatures with the wind howling but let me tell you, when you’re wearing football pads that’s the best time of any year.

“Pressure’s on.

“Big games.

“You’re whole attitude is: ‘Let’s go. This is fun.’”