(Wall and Dell Rapids St. Mary's play the Class 9B championship high school football game on Nov. 12, 2026. Photo credit: SDPB Sports/Josh Jergens Photography.)
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Simplified: The Wall Eagles won their second state football championship in a row on Thursday, defeating Dell Rapids St. Mary's 48-26. Here's a closer look at how it all played out.
Fourth quarter update:
The Cardinals made things interesting to start the fourth quarter, cutting it to 33-20 on just the third play. Brady Jewett hit Jake Heinitz for a 12-yard strike. But Wall answered almost immediately when Tanner Volmer ran it in from 52 yards out to make it 41-20 in a blink.
The Eagles increased the lead to 48-20 when Shooter Frederick scooped a Jewett fumble and ran it in from 36 yards out. St. Mary’s cut it to the final score of 48-26 on a 49-yard reception from Jewett to Logan Bauer.
Volmer finished 13-for-22 for 135 yards and three touchdown passes for Wall. He also rushed for 192 yards and three scores on 21 carries.
“Pretty amazing, pretty special kid,” Wall head coach Lex Weathershaw said of Volmer. “Glad we’ve had him the last few years.”
Volmer also led Wall on defense with 14 tackles and was named the game’s Joe Robbie MVP.
“Last year playing for the Wall Eagles in a Wall Eagles uniform,” he said. “I had to make it special, and I left everything on the field.”
Teelan Kjerstad finished with seven catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns in the win for Wall.
The victory for Wall is their second straight and fifth overall.
“Dells came out in the second half and kind of punched us in the mouth a little bit,” Weathershaw said. “But a great job by our seniors for carrying that leadership and just getting the job done.”
For St. Mary’s, Jewett finished 16-for-29 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, both to Bauer, who finished with 155 yards receiving on seven catches for the Cardinals. Jewett also led St. Mary’s in rushing with 61 yards on 16 carries.
The loss for St. Mary’s is its first since Nov. 8, 2024, a 9B semifinal loss to Faulkton Area.
Earlier play-by-play updates:
Third Quarter: Wall 33, Dell Rapids St. Mary's 12
Things couldn’t have gone worse for St. Mary’s as they tried to erase a 21-point halftime deficit. Quarterback Brady Jewett was intercepted by Tellan Kjerstad on the Cardinals’ opening drive of the second half. Wall turned that into points moments later on a Tanner Volmer one-yard rush to make it 33-6.
Through three quarters, Volmer is having a day for Wall. The senior has accounted for all five Eagles touchdowns after running for two and passing for three. He has 107 total yards rushing and is 12-for-21 for 132 yards passing.
St. Mary’s got it to 33-12 late in the third on a two-yard quarterback run from Jacob Geraets. The sophomore replaced Brady Jewett who was injured on the previous play. Geraets’ score came on 4th-and-1.
For the Cardinals, Jewett leads the offense with 145 yards passing and 37 rushing through three quarters.
Halftime: Wall 27, Dell Rapids St. Mary’s 6
Logan Bauer redeemed an earlier dropped pass in the first quarter by Dell Rapids St. Mary’s when he hauled in a 48-yard touchdown strike from Brady Jewett to cut it to 14-6 midway through the second quarter. The drive was set up by an interception thrown by Wall’s Tanner Vollmer, his first of the season.
After leading 8-0 at the end of the first, Wall made it 14-0 on a Carter Sundall 23-yard catch from Volmer. Wall converted two fourth downs on the drive, one on a flag that will likely be talked about in Dell Rapids for some time. A “hit on a defenseless player” converted a 4th-and-short for Wall.
Volmer scored again with just under three minutes to play to make it 20-6 on a 37-yard rushing touchdown for the Eagles. Wall made it 27-6 with just 10 seconds to play in the half when Volmer hit Teelan Kjerstad from 23 yards out. Volmer has 99 yards rushing and 119 yards passing after two quarters.
First quarter: Wall 8, Dell Rapids St. Mary's 0
Wall opened the game with an impressive drive covering 95 yards and chewing up nearly four minutes. The 10-play drive was capped by a Teelan Kjerstad two-yard reception from Tanner Volmer. Volmer was 3-for-3 for 23 yards passing on the drive.
The Cardinals had a chance to draw even when quarterback Brady Jewett had Logan Bauer open for what looked to be a score. On 1st-and-10 from the Wall 44 with just over three minutes to play, Jewett hit Bauer in stride at the two-yard line, but Bauer was unable to haul in the over-the-head pass.
At the end of one quarter, Wall’s Volmer leads all rushers with 46 yards on six carries.
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