SPOKANE, Wash. -- Cameron Collings kicked a 28 yard field goal with 2:57 left in the game to lift Whitworth to a 17-14 win over visiting Azusa Pacific in a non-conference football game on Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Pine Bowl.

Collings kick capped an 84 yard drive that began at the Pirates' five yard line. After his field goal, the Whitworth defense stopped the Cougars twice without allowing a first down.

Collings kicked the winning FG from 28 yards

Whitworth, ranked 17th in the latest D3football.com poll, improved to 4-0. Azusa Pacific fell to 1-4, dropping a game to a Northwest Conference opponent for the first time in eight contests.

Marcus Lampkin scored on a five yard run on the Cougars' first possession to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead. Azusa Pacific sliced through the Whitworth defense for 59 yards on 10 plays during the drive. However, during the drive, starting Cougar quarterback Rudy Carlton left the game with an injury and did not return the rest of the game.

The Pirates answered with an 81 yard drive of their own to tie the contest. Joel Clark ran up the middle from nine yards out for the score. Clark hit tight end Michael Allan on passes of 17 and 23 yards to move deep into Cougar territory.

On Azusa Pacific's second play of the next drive, back up center Mike Hauser snapped the ball over the head of back up QB Ryan Bridges and Whitworth's Phil Entel recovered on the Cougars' five yard line. Two plays later Kyle Havercroft scored from five yards out to give the Pirates a 14-7 lead.

Late in the second quarter Clark hit Jay Tully for a 31 yard gain into Azusa territory and it looked like the Pirates might extend their lead before halftime. But Nevin Flores sacked Clark for an eight yard loss and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Josh Zeno at the Cougars' 48 yard line with 1:02 left in the half. Three plays later Lampkin took a screen pass and went 33 yards for a game-tying touchdown.

In the third quarter Azusa Pacific had a chance to take the lead when the Cougars drove to the Whitworth 23 yard line. But Ben Hansen's 40 yard field goal attempt was wide right. Neither team threatened to score again until Whitworth's final drive.

After Ryan Marshall took a fair catch at his own five with 6:20 to play, Whitworth had to move the length of the field for the go ahead score. On the first play Clark hit Steve Silva on a quick out and Silva turned the play into a 21 yard gain. Fifteen more yards were added on after Silva was hit late out of bounds. Two plays later Clark found Nick Koller on a flag pattern for 23 yards to the Cougars 31 yard line. Whitworth eventually got to the Azusa Pacific 10 before the defense stiffened and forced Collings' field goal from 28 yards. His effort was down the middle.

Grow had a sack and fumble recovery

On Azusa's second play of its drive, Jermane Easterlin intercepted Bridges' pass and returned the ball to the 11 yard line. Whitworth got as far as the four, but two Cougar time outs and an injury to Whitworth center Jon Erlenmeyer limited the amount of time off of the clock. Clark's pass to Allan on third down was knocked away by Andre Hunter at the last instant in the endzone. On fourth down Milton Nelson was stopped for no gain with 1:06 to play.

But Whitworth's defense did not allow Azusa to move the ball. Two forced passes resulted in incompletes, and Marc Grow sacked Bridges for a three yard loss. On fourth down Bridges did complete a pass to Jon Davis, but only to the eight yard line and Whitworth was able to take over and run out the clock.

The defensive struggle was reflected in the final stats. Whitworth outgained Azusa Pacific 280 - 250. But first downs were 15-15 and the visitors had a slight edge in time of possession (30:17 - 29:43).

Clark was 10 of 16 for 176 yards. He did not throw an interception, but his consecutive game streak with a touchdown pass came to an end at 22 in a row. He was also Whitworth's leading rusher with 37 yards and a score, while Nelson ran for 33 yards and Havercroft had 28.

Bridges was 9 of 18 for 99 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Lampkin finished with 79 yards on 21 carries. Bridges ran for 20 yards on 14 attempts.

Zeno was all over the field for the Cougars on defense, finishing with a game-high 11 tackles, including three sacks for 14 yards and another tackle for loss of one to go along with his fumble recovery. Travis Bengard added nine tackles.

Whitworth's Casey Clifton had eight tackles and a pass break up to lead the Pirate defense. Grow finished with four tackles, including his sack and another fumble recovery. Nick Portrey had six stops, including one for loss of three, and broke up a pass.

Azusa Pacific had come into the game 7-0 against NWC opponents in its history, including a 31-13 win at Willamette last year. Whitworth evens its all time record with the Cougars at 1-1.

The Pirates are 4-0, the best start since the 2001 team began the season 6-0. Whitworth will open Northwest Conference play next week at Pacific Lutheran, a 32-28 come-from-behind winner at Puget Sound today.

Azusa Pacific dropped to 1-4 for the first time since 1994. The Cougars will return to the Northwest next Saturday, playing a key NAIA contest at Southern Oregon.