Redwood High quarterback Cash Ward completed 25 of 30 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, Sept. 26, leading the Giants to a 20-14 win over visiting Petaluma in the Redwood Empire Conference Valley Division opener in Larkspur, according to MaxPreps.

The win pushed Redwood, under head coach Allen Talley, to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. Petaluma dropped to 1-3 and 0-1.

Neither team scored in the first quarter. Redwood's running game struggled to find lanes against a physical Trojans front, stalling the offense.

"Our running game was getting clogged up early and it slowed down the entire offense," receiver Finn Reilly told the Marin Independent Journal. "We never really got the offense going until just before halftime."

Ward broke through late in the second quarter, capping a 17-play, 89-yard drive by hitting Olen Johnson for a three-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half. He connected on 10 of 11 passes to four receivers on that possession.

The offensive line came alive after halftime. Running back Miles Bricker broke loose for 24 yards on the second play of the third quarter. That was six more yards than he gained in the entire first half. Bricker carried five times on a seven-play, 69-yard scoring drive, punching in a three-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.

Petaluma answered after Ward's second interception, driving 72 yards on 11 plays to a one-yard touchdown run by Petaluma's Maldonado, cutting the lead to 14-7. Redwood responded right away. Ward scrambled hard to his left under pressure and lofted a pass to the front corner of the end zone, where Wes Fitzpatrick outleaped defenders for a 14-yard touchdown catch and a 20-7 lead.

A 35-yard pass completion set up a 29-yard touchdown run by Petaluma's Hudson Banaszak, pulling the Trojans within 20-14 with about seven minutes left.

Redwood never gave the ball back. Ward engineered a 14-play drive to run out the clock, converting four third downs. On third-and-six, he faked a bubble screen and found Reilly for seven yards. On third-and-12, Charlie Anderson caught a bubble screen for 14 yards, staying in bounds to keep the clock running.

Reilly led all receivers with 10 catches for 104 yards. Johnson added six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. Anderson finished with four catches for 47 yards, and Fitzpatrick had four for 46 yards and a score. Bricker ended the day with 91 yards on 26 touches.

Ward, a senior who transferred to Redwood from Marin Catholic before the 2025 season, completed 74.7 percent of his passes in five games last year, according to the Redwood Bark. In Redwood's season opener on Aug. 29, he completed 14 of 25 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-14 win over San Leandro, according to the Redwood Bark. Against Petaluma, he went 25-for-30.

Redwood travels to Vintage for its next league game Friday, Oct. 2, then hosts Maria Carrillo Oct. 9 or Oct. 10.