Five football players at Hart High School...

Five football players at Hart High School in Newhall were arrested on suspicion of kidnaping after allegedly forcing a 17-year-old girl into a van and abandoning her in a remote canyon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.

In what deputies said appeared to be a prank that went out of control, the girl, a senior at the high school, suffered three minor cuts to her right leg when she tripped over a chain as she tried to run away from the boys. She did not seek medical treatment.

The boys apparently were trying to send a message that they were angered by a series of pranks against them by girls at the school, Sgt. Greg Palmieri said. The kidnaped girl was not involved in those pranks, he said. She suffered bruises on her arms and upper thighs when the boys grabbed her and forced her into the van, he said.

The boys were arrested Tuesday at the high school and were released to their parents pending the outcome of an investigation, Palmieri said. The sheriff’s station was contacted by the girl’s father.