Meanwhile, eight-time Liberty division champion West Deptford, like Haddonfield in previous years, is plotting revenge in what the Eagles hope will be a rematch in the South Jersey Group 2 tournament.
"We have to learn from this," West Deptford coach Clyde Folsom said. "That's a good footall team, strong, physical. They deserved to win. They took advantage of those situations."
Before Ciemniecki's big play, West Deptford was in position to seize command of the game. The Eagles had answered Haddonfield's touchdown to forge a 7-7 tie at halftime, and had taken the second-half kickoff and moved to the Bulldogs' 28-yard line.
But Haddonfield senior linebacker Matt Bhaya helped create a fumble, and Ciemniecki grabbed the football and took off down the right sideline.
"Matt Bhaya made a great play and I just went for the ball," Ciemniecki said. "It was unbelievable, to have a 7-7 tie at halftime and come out and do that."
Haddonfield (3-0), the No. 10 team in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, quickly took control of the game. Maybe that was a sign of the Bulldogs' tenacity, or the Eagles' inexperience, or some combination.
But what had been a taut, competitive game quickly got away from the Eagles with a series of turnovers and shaky special-teams plays.
"That was disappointing," Folsom said of his team's inability to bounce back from Ciemniecki's big play.
The victory was a breakthrough for Haddonfield. The Bulldogs had advanced as a program to the point where they were eye-to-eye with West Deptford, the long-time conference and Group 2 power.
In fact, Haddonfield had beaten West Deptford in the 2009 and 2010 tournament. That second victory secured the program's first sectional title since the start of the playoff system in 1974.
