SUNSET LEAGUE : Guyness’ Motto: Just Catch It

LONG BEACH — Never let it be said Stan Guyness can’t follow directions.

Guyness, Los Alamitos’ thrill-seeking wide receiver, was told it twice. Quarterback Kevin Feterik said it plain and simple.

“Kevin looked at me and said, ‘Just catch the ball,’ ” Guyness said.

Is that all Kev? Nothing fancy. No broken tackles, leaping catches or eye-popping moves.

“Kevin said, ‘Just catch the ball,’ ” Guyness said.

OK, so Guyness’ last big play was his least spectacular.

All he did was grab Feterik’s floater for a 30-yard touchdown with 1 minute 15 seconds left for a 35-32 victory over Esperanza on Thursday. All he did was help extend the Griffins’ unbeaten streak to 43 games and their winning streak to 22. All he did was catch the ball.

“Stan was the only guy open,” Feterik said. “I had to throw to him. But I knew he’d catch it.”

Sure, Feterik had left specific instructions.

Of course, throwing to Guyness wasn’t exactly a high-risk proposition. Thursday was just another scrapbook event for him.

Guyness, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior, scored three touchdowns and wandered around Long Beach Veterans Stadium like he was the groundskeeper.

He has scored six touchdowns in the last three games. He also threw a touchdown pass off a reverse against Marina two weeks ago. So he’s accounted for seven of the Griffins’ last 12 touchdowns.

But just try to draw attention to yourself when you’re playing third-fiddle to fellow receivers Brad Melsby and Tony Hartley, two Division I prospects. Guyness came into Thursday’s game third on the team with 17 receptions.

“Actually, I like it that way,” Guyness said. “People are double-teaming Brad and worrying about Tony. It makes it easy for me to get open.”

He certainly made it look easy Thursday.

Guyness had seven receptions for 102 yards. He ran the ball three times for 50 yards.

In the second quarter, Guyness caught a 26-yard pass that broke a 6-6 tie. He beat Jason Ledonne to the right corner of the end zone, where he found Feterik’s pass waiting.

In the third quarter, Guyness took a handoff, spotted an opening on the right and accelerated. It went for 29 yards and a touchdown.

“Stan’s a slippery guy,” Hartley said. “If there’s an opening out there, he’s going to find it.”

Guyness had to create one on the last play. He blew past Aztec defensive back Dahrin Footman, then waited for Feterik’s pass to arrive. The ball was a little under-thrown and Footman was scrambling to recover. But it was a done deal.

“I didn’t thrown it too well, but it was close to Stan,” Feterik said. “If it’s close, Stan’s going to catch it.”