The long road back turned out to be a bit shorter than expected for Homewood-Flossmoor’s David Ocasio .

Last season, Ocasio suffered a torn ACL in the Vikings’ playoff opener. He expected to miss part of his senior season this fall, but the team’s top defender was ready to go by opening day.

“It was super hard,” Ocasio said. “At first, I didn’t think I tore anything. It felt perfectly fine. But when they told me, it was tough. It felt like the longest nine months of my life. I thought I’d miss half the season this year.

“But coming back felt so good. I feel like I came back better than ever.”

Ocasio has been a huge part of a major turnaround for H-F. He led the defense Monday night as the host Vikings rolled to a 9-1 victory over Marian Catholic in Flossmoor.

Dax Curtis recorded a

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