The 15th organized practice of the spring/summer for the Sammamish Totems football team focused on the fundamentals on July 19 at Sammamish High School.

Todd Craig, who is in his third season as the Totems head coach, said he enjoyed watching his team come together to improve their skills during the practice session.

In 2015, the Totems won just two games and suffered four losses via forfeits due to a multitude of injuries but are looking to put that behind them this fall.

“Hopefully our numbers (players on roster) are on the rise. We have done some things as a team where we can be more competitive this year,” Craig said. “The culture is changing. We have kids that working hard and who are putting in the work and effort that we need. It is more consistent than it has been in the past but there is always room for improvement.”

Craig said his squad performed well during an organized scrimmage/tournament at Rainier Beach High School in late June.

“There were eight or nine teams there. It was 11-on-11 and each team got 20 plays of offense and 20 plays of defense. We won the tournament. It helped us build some confidence. We got to execute plays on offense and defense. The kids feel great about the hard work they have put in. It is paying off,” Craig said.

Craig said the cupboard is far from bare this season. Totems’ quarterback Matt Castle will be back in the fold after suffering a season ending knee injury in the season opener in 2015. Kekoa Loschky was the starting signal caller for the remainder of the 2015 season after Castle went down. While Interlake is typically Sammamish’s natural rival in the majority of their varsity contests, Craig said his squad is focused on doing everything they can to focus on themselves instead of the opponent.

“We haven’t really tried to focus on one game on the schedule. We are trying to build up ourselves. For now, it is just about getting our systems in place and making sure we can run our offense and defense,” Craig said.