Redwood High's football team traveled to Napa on Friday, Oct. 2, and handed previously unbeaten Vintage its first loss, 27-14, in a Redwood Empire Conference Valley League game.

Junior running back Miles Bricker carried the load.

He ran 36 times for 119 yards and scored twice, on runs of 1 and 2 yards, to stake the Giants to a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Vintage entered the game 4-0 and ranked 15th in the North Coast Section. Redwood, ranked 32nd and riding a three-game win streak, was the lower-ranked team by a wide margin, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

The Giants kept piling on. Senior quarterback Cash Ward found Charlie Anderson for a 26-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-0. A 45-yard field goal before halftime made it 24-0 at the break.

Vintage fought back with two third-quarter touchdowns to cut the deficit to 24-14. But Redwood answered with a 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and controlled the clock the rest of the way.

"We were playing on all cylinders in the first half," head coach Allen Talley told the Marin IJ. "Going into the half with a 24-0 lead was big. … In the second half, we had a couple of mistakes, but we hunkered down, we made a couple of long drives, and we were able to run the clock down."

Ward, a senior who transferred from Marin Catholic before last season, finished 20-of-27 passing for 178 yards. Wes Fitzpatrick hauled in seven catches for 73 yards, while Bricker added four receptions for 37 yards out of the backfield.

The win improved Redwood to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Valley League play. Vintage dropped to 4-1 and 0-1 in league. The Giants, who went 6-6 last season before a second-round exit in the NCS playoffs, have now won four straight.

Redwood is set to host Maria Carrillo next. The league schedule lists the game for Oct. 9 or Oct. 10.