Ferradermis wrapped up its 2025 offseason when 27 team members traveled to Roboteer Rumble in Tremont, Illinois from October 24-25. Team 2481, the Roboteers, host this event each fall featuring 36 high-caliber teams from across the Midwest. This year, teams traveled from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri for some tough competition. Wisconsin had 4 teams represented. Included in the event were 4 teams who finished in the top 30 of the worldwide regional pool during the regular season, the Indiana District State Champion, and Team 4272 Maverick Robotics from Lafayette, Indiana who are a member of the reigning World Championship Alliance crowned in Houston in April.
Ferradermis more than held its own against this elite competition, ending qualifications with a 4-1 record and a #6 ranking. The robot was led onto the field by Drive Coach Erison Dreskler, Driver Margaret Brown, Operator Mason Genung, Human Player Vivian Harris, and Technician Paxton Wilson.
The Ferradermis robot Chief of the Reef experienced a catastrophic mechanical failure during the final qualification match. The arm which holds the end effector used to grab the game pieces was in bad shape going into the match, and the end effector ended up dragging on the ground, exposing it to accidental damage from other robots. By the time the match ended, the end effector had been literally destroyed and laid in pieces on the field.
With alliance selections for the playoffs happening immediately after that fateful match, Ferradermis had to make a quick decision about whether to withdraw from the playoffs before alliances were selected. Putting their trust in the pit crew led by Preston Miller and Owen Taylor, the team of Erison Dreksler, Rae Breisath, and Cam Avila moved onto the field and accepted the position of #5 alliance captain. They invited Team 1736 Robot Casserole from Peoria, Illinois and Team 3596 Rocket Robotics from South Milwaukee to join the alliance. They also selected Team 8430 The Hatch Batch from Washington, Indiana to join the alliance as a backup bot.
With the end effector rebuilt to be functional just in time for the first playoff match, the Ferradermis alliance fell to the eventual champion alliance led by Team 1706 Ratchet Rockers who set an event high score of 272 points during the match. A second playoff loss ended the day for Ferradermis, but the team enjoyed watching some intense high-caliber competition for the remainder of the day.
Other Ferradermis travelers supporting the team in the pit, as scouts in the stands, or filming matches included Zoey Ambrose, Chacha Binagi, Emilie Bruns, Frankie DiFiore, Asher Downs, Alex Fletcher, Eli Gonsior, Cooper Housel, Jayden Kehrer, Colby Long, Wyatt Meyers, Shae Onstott, Alex Perez-Aguilar, Sam Raupp, Julian Rennells, Johan Servin, Letty Trautman, and Mily Zeferino-Hernandez.
Team 6574 was 34-19-1 in official season play and 55-34-2 overall in 2025. The team will now focus on outreach events and training for the remainder of the fall until the new season kicks off in January.