Agent Zero was delighted to remove his favourite number from the touchdown table.
Defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., who wears No. 0 with great distinction for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, scored his first major in nearly a decade by taking an interception 64 yards during Saturday’s 28-23 CFL victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“I feel like it took long enough,” Milligan Jr. said after Saskatchewan improved its record to 2-0. “It was fun, though. I was hyped. I’ve been trying to get in the end zone for a while.
“They’ve always been joking about me getting tackled by quarterbacks and tackled by offensive linemen, so it felt good to finally finish one of them off.”
Milligan had come oh, so close on June 24th, 2023, when the Roughriders visited McMahon Stadium to face the Calgary Stampeders.
Early in the third quarter, he intercepted Jake Maier — now a Roughriders teammate — and sprinted 56 yards before being tackled by receiver Cole Tucker … on the one-yard line!
“It probably took a year for me to get over that one,” Milligan Jr. said with a laugh.
Last season, three of his interception returns ended deep in opposition territory — on the 11-, 20- and 31-yard lines.
He also reached the 21-yard line after a pick in 2022.
Then came Saturday, when a Roughrider returned a Bo Levi Mitchell interception for a touchdown for the seventh time. (Mitchell has thrown the most pick-sixes of any opposing quarterback. See: Table 1 below.)
With Hamilton leading 7-6 and scrimmaging the ball on its 42-yard line, Mitchell looked for Tim White over the middle.
The Tiger-Cats’ plan was disrupted by a blitzing linebacker — A.J. Allen — who bull-rushed Greg Bell and pushed the Tiger-Cats tailback toward Mitchell, thereby affecting the pass.
“The ball was just floating,” Milligan Jr. said of his 12th CFL regular-season pick. “It was an easy interception.”
From there, it was a matter of navigating a path toward the end zone.
The two key blocks were made near the Tiger-Cats’ 40-yard line where, almost simultaneously, defensive back DaMarcus Fields impeded receiver Shemar Bridges and defensive end Shane Ray took care of offensive lineman Quinton Barrow.
Milligan Jr. was not touched until receiver Kiondre Smith intervened near the goal line.
Smith wrapped his arms around the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player, but momentum carried him into the end zone at 3:04 of the third quarter for the 121st pick-six in franchise history.
Milligan Jr. scored for the first time since Sept. 26th, 2015, when he was a senior with the University of Toledo Rockets.
In a home game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves, an interception thrown by James Tabary turned into a 36-yard TD at the Glass Bowl, where the Rockets won 37-7.
Milligan Jr.’s latest touchdown punctuated the second-longest interception return the Roughriders have registered in Hamilton.
Fran McDermott scored on a 67-yarder on July 8th, 1984, when the Roughriders and Tiger-Cats tied 27-27 at Ivor Wynne Stadium. (See: Table 2 below.)
McDermott’s major was converted by Dave Ridgway — like Milligan Jr., a graduate of the University of Toledo.
TABLE 1: MOST INTERCEPTION-RETURN TOUCHDOWNS AGAINST AN OPPOSING QUARTERBACK
7 — Bo Levi Mitchell
5 — Danny McManus
5 — Ricky Ray
4 — Jerry Keeling*
4 — Michael Reilly
3 — Condredge Holloway
3 — Tom Wilkinson*
*—denotes interception thrown in playoffs
TABLE 2: ROUGHRIDERS’ LONGEST INTERCEPTION RETURNS IN HAMILTON
67 — Fran McDermott. July 8th, 1984 (TD) (quarterback: Dieter Brock)
64 — Rolan Milligan Jr., June 14th, 2025 (TD) (Bo Levi Mitchell)
55 — Bill Manchuk, July 30th, 1980 (TD) (Bruce Lemmerman)
