"It's going to be a merry Christmas," UH offensive tackle Brandon Eaton said in the celebration of the Warriors' 59-28 victory over Army last night at Aloha Stadium.

By winning their seventh game, the Warriors (7-4) ensured a winning record in their 13-game regular season and met the minimum requirement to securing a berth in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Day.

Offensive tackle Uriah Moenoa said the bowl invitation surpasses any monetary gift he has received for the holidays.

"A bowl is better than money because I get to be with these guys for another three weeks," Moenoa said. 'I'll take that any day over money."

The Warriors entered as heavy favorites against Army, which matched the NCAA-worst 0-12 seasons shared by UH and Colorado State. The Black Knights will own the record outright if they lose their season finale against Navy.

The Warriors, who have struggled on the road, appeared to be at ease at Aloha Stadium, where they are now 18-4 in the last three seasons. They rolled up a school-record 741 yards in offense and forced two turnovers inside their 5. Roll the credits for:

• Quarterback Tim Chang, who became the seventh player in NCAA history to amass 12,000 career passing yards. Chang reached the milestone with an 8-yard pass on the last play of the first quarter; he finished 25 of 43 for 356 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 2-yard bootleg.

"I feel really comfortable at home," said Chang, a fourth-year junior from Saint Louis School. "I love playing in this stadium. I stayed home for a reason. I wouldn't want to play in any other place."

• Slotback Chad Owens, who pulled in a school-record 14 receptions. He had 168 receiving yards and a touchdown. "The o-line was giving Timmy the time to throw the ball and the receivers blocked after I caught the ball," Owens said. "It was a total team effort."

• Backup running back John West, who ran for two touchdowns and turned a shovel pass into a 32-yard scoring play. West, whose right eye was bruised from a head-on tackle, dedicated his performance to his brother. "He's heading off to war (today)," West said, noting his brother is in the Army's special forces stationed in Iraq. "He just came back for a week and a half."

• Backup quarterback Jason Whieldon, who completed 16 of 17 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. "I was having a great time," Whieldon said. "I haven't been out there in a while. I was going to make the most of it because I didn't know when I would go back out there. I was stoked in the game and I was stoked when we got the victory."

Despite Whieldon's breakout performance, UH coach June Jones quickly defused any quarterback controversy, saying Chang would start against Alabama Saturday. Besides, Whieldon pointed out, "the credit should go to the offensive line. They said they would play well, and they stepped up to the plate. Those are the five players of the game right there."

Moenoa, the right guard, noted the defense had played well in recent games while the offense struggled.

"The defense was putting its butts on the line," Moenoa said. "We had to show up, and we showed up in a big way. We needed this for ourselves."

To be sure, the defense, for the most part, was able to contain Army's controlled passing attack. The Warriors scored on an interception return and stopped two drives inside their 5.

In the first quarter, cornerback Kelvin Millhouse intercepted Zac Dahman's pass into the right flat and raced 28 yards for a touchdown.

"As soon as the receiver came off the line, I knew what he was running, just from watching flims and their warmups," Millhouse said. "I slowed down my back pedal. When I saw the quarterback bring his arm up, I broke (toward the flat). When I caught it, there was nothing in front of me except the end zone. It felt good. I missed the feeling of running with the ball."

UH's other starting cornerback, Abraham Elimimian, also made an interception, as he had predicted he would before the game.

Perhaps UH's most important defensive stand came in the second quarter, when Dahman tried to vault the final yard for a touchdown. But Dahman was met in mid-flight by middle linebacker Chad Kalilimoku. The ball was knocked loose and recovered in the end zone by defensive end Travis LaBoy for a touchback.

"My d-line got a push, and I just followed up," Kalilimoku said. "I straight up whacked him and the ball came out. That felt pretty good."

Almost as good, Chang said, "as Christmas coming early. It was a nice night."