And the six first-half goals were evidence that the Papermakers were ready for the postseason.

But as easy as Saturday’s dismantling of Bonney Lake was, as dominating as the Papermakers were while entertaining their fans at Doc Harris Stadium, a 10th consecutive trip to the Class 3A state tournament hasn’t exactly come easy for Camas.

Injuries have hampered or sidelined many of the Papermakers for at least part of this season, and several starters, including playmaker Brent Richards, were ill on Saturday.

So it was a relief to coach Roland Minder that his squad pounced early. Camas (15-1-1) will host Nathan Hale of Seattle (7-3-6) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Doc Harris Stadium in the round of 16.

A year ago, against the same school in the same bi-district playoff round, Camas beat Bonney Lake 1-0 and didn’t score until the final minutes of the match. The Papermakers remembered, and ignored the fact that the Pirates (6-4-7) entered Saturday’s match with more ties than wins.

“Last year we only beat them 1-0. We didn’t want to come out like that, so we just played hard in the beginning,” said senior forward Evan Lehner, who scored two goals. “It makes it a lot easier for the rest of the game.”

“An early goal really helps,” Minder agreed.

The scoring started in the third minute, with Lehner scoring an unassisted goal. By halftime, Quinton Beasley had a goal and an assist, as did freshman Nick Palodichuk. Junior Daniel Houston and freshman Drew White tallied unassisted goals in the first half. In the first minute after halftime, Richards completed the scoring with a goal from an assist by Wes Breitner.

Camas was playing for the first time since its only loss of the season, a 2-0 setback at Columbia River on April 30.

“The last game against River we were a little too confident and it was kind of a wake-up call for us,” defender Scott Downs, a Camas co-captain, said. “In this game, we all said we don’t care what (Bonney Lake’s) record is ... we need to bring it to them right from the beginning and put it in the net and show them who we are.”

In doing so, the Papermakers showed they might be a force in the state tournament — again.