[methomps]

UCLA football players' ditch day gets a harsh reaction - Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, coaches from La Palma Kennedy High, who had come to Westwood to see practice, left shaking their heads.

"I guess that's why they're in the Lay's Potato Chips Bowl every year," said Chris Pascal, Kennedy's freshman coach.

Coaches from Encino Crespi High also left with a vivid impression.

"Let me put it this way, they wouldn't have done that at Fresno State," said Coach Jeremiah Ross, a former Fresno State player.

Pascal said he and other coaches had yet to receive an explanation or apology from UCLA as of Wednesday afternoon even though they were required to leave their e-mail addresses when they signed in before practice.

"They had recruits there, and can you imagine what they think after being driven there and being sent back onto the freeway at 5 p.m.?" Pascal said. "The four of us were standing there for a half-hour, someone could have said something. On the way home we thought about going over to USC because we knew they would be on the practice field."