Chang completed 26 of 42 passes for 475 yards and five touchdowns to rally the Warriors in triple overtime, 54-48, against Houston in last night's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. His receivers said the difference between last night and his performances from the past few regular season games was having fun again.

"Timmy was more vocal this game, more excited," senior wide receiver Jeremiah Cockheran said. "He was running around like a kid again. I think in the second quarter, I told him to just be a kid again. He was out there having fun like back in the Saint Louis days."

Coincidentally, that's what former Crusaders' wide receiver Jason Rivers said.

"I told Timmy, 'Nobody knows about you. Nobody knows about the Saint Louis connection.' He was like, 'Yeah, I know, I know.' I said, 'Really, they don' t know what you're about.' Tonight, he showed he was the first and real leader of this team. He led us to victory. He persevered through hard times and he came out on top."

Chang, Hawai'i's player of the game, said he felt he owed it to the seniors to show the team will be in capable hands next year.

"Sometimes I'm very quiet," Chang said. "The team's leaders are leaving. I started taking over the responsibility I'm going to have next year. I was vocal, I was positive. I just tried to encourage our team."

It was Cockheran and Rivers who made it happen for Chang. They gave the Warriors the deep threat that seemed to abandon them toward the end of the regular season.

Cockheran had five catches for a team-leading 162 yards, while Rivers had seven receptions for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Although Cockheran didn't score a TD, he came up with crucial catches during some of the Warriors' scoring drives. His 45-yard reception to the Cougars' 13 set up a 29-yard field goal by Nolan Miranda that pulled the Warriors to 20-13 with 1:53 left in the half.

Cockheran accounted for 72 receiving yards of a five-play, 80-yard drive that led to a 1-yard TD run by Michael Brewster. A 64-yard catch by Cockheran to the Cougars' 4 set up the score to open the third quarter that tied the score at 20.

He also had a 28-yard reception on third-and-28 from the Hawai'i 12 that kept a series alive, eventually ending with Chang's 4-yard TD pass to Rivers that put the Warriors ahead 34-27.

In the third overtime period, Cockheran's 13-yard catch on third-and-6 at the Cougars' 21 set up Brewster's' 8-yard game-winning TD run.

"I'm so happy for him because he's been struggling all year with his ankle," Hawai'i receivers coach Ron Lee said. "He really showed the kind of speed he has. In the clutch situations, he makes the plays. Now I hope he can get into the Hula Bowl. He was open all night long and he made some key catches in some really critical times. Down the stretch, I think Jeremiah showed the kind of player he is."

Cockheran said he hopes his nationally televised performance caught the pro scouts' attention.

"The NFL, that's where I want to play at," said the 6-foot, 190-pound senior. "It gave me a lot of exposure. I didn't make two catches, but I made some plays to inspire the guys and that's all that matters."

But it was the true freshman Rivers who provided a glimpse into next season. Cockheran said the torch has been passed to Rivers.

"(Ashley) Lelie passed it down to (Justin) Colbert, Colbert passed it down to me, I passed it down to Rivers. He did a great job tonight, I'm very proud of him," Cockheran said.

Chang was impressed that Rivers handled himself like an upperclassman.

"Everybody talks about Ashley and how great Ashley was, but this kid's a true freshman and he's already developed so far ahead of people; he's like a man," Chang said. "He's just like a junior or senior out there. He's going to be a great asset to this team. We're going to really use him next year. He's going to be a go-to guy."