Photo by John Staats

The Milwaukee Bonecrushers, a first-year entry into the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), mustered only 193 yards of total offense last Friday night in a 64-41 loss to the Chicago Slaughter. The most amazing thing might be that three former Racine Raiders accounted for 161, or 83%, of those yards.

Wide receiver Dorian Palmer, who led the Raiders in receptions, yards receiving, and touchdowns in 2007, had five catches for 69 yards and four touchdowns.

Reggie Davis, who played for the Raiders in the early-2000s, added two catched for 54 yards and a TD, while Brian Sylvas, a linebacker for the Raiders in 2006 and 2007, rushed rushed for 15 yards and had two catches for 24 yards in his new role as a running back.

Defensive players also made an impact. Defensive back Rick Hutchins, who joined the Raiders midway through the 2007 season, had five tackles and an interception. Defensive lineman Marcus Fletcher added two tackles.

Several other Raiders suited up for the game but stats weren’t immediately available for them.

The Bonecrushers play another home game at the U.S. Cellular Arena this Saturday, March 29, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. against the Muskegon Thunder (1-1).

Former Racine Raiders running back Devery Evans passed away on New Year’s Day from a blood clot in his lungs. Evans, 22, played for the Raiders in 2005 but has been plagued by medical issues recently.

Evans was in a long-term relationship with Houa Xiong and the two have four children together; Angela, DeMarco, Desiree, and Danysha.

Evans saw limited playing time in a crowded and talented backfield in 2005 that included Bryan Jennings, Jr., James Matthews, Eric Ervin, and Curtis Blanden. Evan’s best run of the season may have come in the Raiders first game against the Midwest (MN) Pioneers at Historic Horlick Field on June 24. Ervin broke a 20-yard TD run late in the first quarter to give the Raiders a 7-6 lead in the game. They would go on to win 22-13.

Evans played high school football at Brown Deer High School. Accoring to stats acquired from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Preps Plus website, Evans had 78 carries for 471 yards (6.0 average) and five TDs in 2001 and 115 carries for 592 yards (5.1 average) and five TDs in 2002. Evans played with Raiders’ tight end Lowell Schaapveld at Brown Deer.

“When Devery would walk into a room he would always just have that smile and that laugh that you would never forget,” said Schaapveld. “He was always smiling and laughing. He truly was an unforgettable man!”

The Raiders will update fans on funeral arrangements should the family release them to the public.