A Forgettable Month for Five Area Teams : Prep football: Fairfax, St. Monica, Santa Monica, University and Venice were winless in September.

Santa Monica High starts the football season 0-3. Westchester is the only team from the Coastal Conference with a winning record. University and Venice have combined to play five games and have not scored a point.

What happened to the optimism surrounding area teams before the start of the season?

“I think there are a lot of inexperienced players on the Westside,” Venice Coach Tony Chretin said. “I know that is our problem. We have nothing but 10th- and 11th-graders starting. I think the (Coastal) Conference is down as a whole.”

Of the eight teams in the Coastal Conference, only Westchester (2-0-1) has a winning record. Although Palisades (1-1) and Hamilton (1-2) have experienced victory, the remaining five teams--Fairfax, Los Angeles, Manual Arts, University and Venice--have a combined record of 0-14.

The solution? Coastal Conference play begins this week, assuring victories for some of the struggling teams.

In the Southern Section, Beverly Hills (2-1) and Culver City (2-1) have strong programs and Brentwood (3-0) is the among the elite in eight-man football. Santa Monica (0-3) and St. Monica (0-3), however, are winless.

Here’s a look at the winless wonders of the Westside.

Fairfax (0-3)--The Lions did not hire Terrel Ray until late August and that hurt the program. While other coaches were instituting their offense, Ray had to prevent players from fleeing to other schools.

The Lions are not as bad as the record indicates, having lost close games to Gardena, 14-8, and Cleveland, 25-22.

On Friday, the Lions held defending City Section champion Dorsey to seven points in the first half before losing, 21-0. Fairfax’s best offensive player, Hasan Muhammad, completed seven of 22 passes for 56 yards.

Look for Muhammad to pad his statistics when Fairfax plays host to Los Angeles on Friday.

St. Monica (0-3)--In 1991, the Mariners went six weeks before scoring a touchdown.

Things are not as bad this season. St. Monica has been able to score in its losses to Harvard-Westlake, 35-14, Santa Clara, 18-13, and Blair, 42-10.

Last week, St. Monica totaled more than 300 yards against Blair, but two turnovers and a penalty slowed the attack.

“We had 120 yards in penalties and that figures into their offense,” St. Monica Coach Norm Lacy said. “We need to improve our composure and not give up big plays. As the team gets better and matures, we’ll eliminate those mistakes.”

St. Monica plays St. Anthony, a young, inexperienced team similar to itself on Friday at Clark Stadium in Lakewood.

Santa Monica (0-3)--Coach Ron Guercio, 58, has been associated with Santa Monica High since he was a youth and he doesn’t remember the last time the Vikings started with three consecutive losses.

“This team is young and emotional and sometimes they play with their emotions,” Guercio said. “Once we control that, we’ll be OK.”

Guercio has shifted tight end Michael Jackson to tailback, and he rushed for 118 yards and passed for 70 yards. Lucas Harper has become the quarterback and completed 15 of 33 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Former quarterback Sheldon Sharpe has moved to receiver and had scoring receptions of 29 and 77 yards.

The Vikings, a Westside power in the 1970s and early 80s, hopes to end their skid against Compton Centennial on Friday.

University (0-3)--The Warriors have been shut out by San Pedro, 34-0, Birmingham, 15-0, and Eagle Rock, 11-0. University came close to scoring last week, but Chris Wallace’s 22-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

University has trouble sustaining its blocks on offense and tackling on defense. Caleb Fahey (68 yards in 21 carries) has emerged as the team’s leading ballcarrier, and sophomore quarterback Ben Weiss, who has completed 10 of 28 passes for 115 yards, is settling down.

The Warriors play at Hamilton on Friday at 3 p.m. and the Yankees are without running back Antony Dean and receiver Eric Polk. A win would put the Warriors in first place in the Metro League.

Venice (0-3)--The Gondoliers, like University, have not scored, losing to Huntington Park, 14-0, and San Pedro, 25-0, two of the better teams in the City Section.

The bright spot has been the play of linebacker/fullback Gabe Shaibi, who became one of the team’s first juniors to be named team captain.

“Somewhere down the road we will no longer be an inexperienced team and we will have to rise to the occasion,” Co-Coach Tony Cretin said.