GEORGETOWN -- When faced with challenges, the Brenham Cubs were content to simply stay the course.

And now they'll follow that course to the Class 4A Division II state championship game.

The Cubs shut out the Antlers in the second half to earn a 31-21 semifinal victory Saturday at Birkelbach Field.

"We just never panicked, and we talked about it all the way through," Brenham head coach Glen West said. "Let's just keep doing it and don't let up. Instead of getting nervous about the fact that we could get beat, we talked about the fact that we had an opportunity to win. That was our theme."

Brenham (13-2) will face Aledo (14-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Austin's Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Aledo beat Denison 40-28 to reach the championship game.

Even while staying the course, Brenham's most important play Saturday -- a 35-yard option carry by sophomore running back Troy Green -- proved that the Cubs could cut and run.

On a fourth-and-1, Cubs' quarterback Ty Schlottmann ran the option to his left, and his pitch caught Green at the moment the back darted upfield. Green zipped through a seam and the Antlers' defense for a touchdown, giving Brenham a 28-21 lead with 5:32 remaining.

"I knew [Green] might have a better chance of getting around them than me," Schlottmann said. "When [the defender] tried to take me, I just dished it off to Troy, and he did his thing and went in the end zone."

The Antlers held the ball just two plays on their next possession. Mikhail Ironside caught a pass on the second one, but Brenham's Jeremy Hall stripped the ball from him and teammate Brandon Fielder recovered it at the Tivy 37-yard line.

On the ensuing drive, Schlottmann, who was helped to the sideline after injuring his ankle, returned on fourth down to complete a pass for a first down to Derek Edwards. In a timeout huddle before the play, Schlottmann put pressure on the ankle to prove to his head coach that he was ready to return.

When the drive stalled, junior kicker Tanner Schmidt had just enough power to inch a 37-yard field goal over the bar with 1:37 remaining, giving the Cubs a 10-point advantage.

"When Tanner got ready to kick his field goal, I asked him if he'd rather do this or be fishing," West said. "He said if it wasn't too cold, he might like to fish."

He hooked a big one with the game-sealing kick that sends Brenham to the state championship game for the first time since 2002.

For the third straight week, Brenham had to rally to win. This time, however, it wasn't an emotional comeback, just a steady, purpose-driven approach. The Cubs did drive often in the second half, rolling up 151 of their 213 rushing yards after intermission.

"I think a pivotal point in the second half, although we didn't score in the drive, was Michael Walker's run down the sideline when he broke a tackle and rolled 20 or 30 yards," West said. "That told the team that we are going to do this."

They also held dangerous Tivy junior quarterback Johnny Manziel in check, helping that cause by forcing turnovers. Manziel finished with all of Tivy's 97 rushing yards, but the bulk of that came on a 63-yard run in the second half that was followed a play later by Jesse Baker's interception for the Cubs.

"At halftime, we said there's nothing broken," said West of his team's defensive effort. "The thing I didn't want to do is panic. I said at halftime, 'Hey, would you rather be down 21-0, or are you OK with 21-21?' We said let's forget about winning the game. Let's worry about playing one play at a time the whole second half. If they beat us, they beat us, but let's make sure everything is left on the field and we're going to do it together."

The Cubs spent Friday night in Georgetown and watched a movie. The movie was Hitch, the Will Smith-Eva Mendes romantic comedy.

"Early in the year, we watched Remember the Titans, and that's a great movie, and somebody said something about Gladiator," West said. "They were going to be uptight. This is a big ball game. We need them to relax, and so I wanted something silly and lighthearted."

Unlike the title character in the movie, the Cubs' victory didn't exactly come off without a hitch. They allowed a spate of dynamic plays by Manziel early. The quarterback caught, passed for and ran for a touchdown to lead his team to a 21-14 lead in the second period. All were exceptional plays, and two of them helped Tivy rally from a 14-6 deficit.

Manziel hit a wide-open Chad Ham down the middle for a 50-yard touchdown. Three plays later, the Antlers reclaimed the ball when Spencer Thomas perfectly read a Brenham middle screen and jumped in front of Schlottmann's pass for an interception at the 28.

He returned the ball to the Brenham 16, where Manziel did the rest. After faking a handoff to fullback Sonny Guzardo, Manziel benefited from his block. Guzardo turned back inside and delivered a hard block that shielded Manziel's path to score with 2:46 left.

"Our coaches have told us that the next play is the most important play," Schlottmann said. "I knew I had to get that out of my head because there was a lot of game left, and I couldn't let that affect us or the team. Forgetting about that play and driving back down the field to tie the game up, I think the momentum swung over to our side a lot."

The Cubs left their only turnover in their wake, needing just 1:59 to complete an eight-play 74-yard scoring march. Schlottmann passed on every play, converting one first down on a short pass to Terrell Reese. Edwards got the rest, getting a 19-yard catch to the 27. Under pressure, Schlottmann delivered a high pass toward the left side. At the goal line, Tivy defensive back Josh Ozuna appeared to have a shot at the interception, but jumped early. Edwards hauled in the pass for the tying score with 27 seconds left until halftime.

"The excitement of the game is what pushed me," said Edwards who had nine receptions for 110 yards. "I don't think it was supposed to come to me. It was just in the moments and he put it out there where I could get it. When opportunities are out there, I've got to go get them, and I took that one. It was focus, focus, focus. I wasn't thinking touchdown, but just to catch the ball."

On the game's first play, Manziel lined up at wide receiver. He outfought the Cubs' Jeremy Hall to take a pass from Ironside on a 79-yard touchdown.

Hall, who fell down and opened the path for Manziel to break away on that big strike, came back to wrap up the game with a fourth-period interception, Brenham's third pick of the day.

"I just saw the ball in the air and said, 'I've got to go get this,'" Hall said.

Brenham built their 14-6 lead when Terrell Reese's 23-yard punt return set up Schlottmann's first scoring pass to Edwards, who ran past Antlers cornerback Keller Fornes for a 29-yard score. With 5:40 left in the half, Green caught a swing pass to his left, maneuvered around a defender to the left sideline and barely scored on a third-and-8 play.