The fall sports season started in earnest over the weekend for Times News area schools.

The Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Palmerton boys soccer teams all earned victories, as did the Palmerton girls soccer squad.Panther Valley was victorious in volleyball action, while Lehighton and Tamaqua performed well in the Pine Grove Invitational.BOYS SOCCERPen Argyl-Jim ThorpePen Argyl and Jim Thorpe both opened up their seasons with a non-league battle that saw the Olympians manage a 4-2 decision.The Olympians' Jorge Macerno opened up the scoring with a first-half goal to give his team the 1-0 halftime edge.In the second, the scoring flood gates opened up, as both sides attacked the opposition's net.Adam Francia's unassisted score started the second half, before the Green Knights' Stivan Kumborov responded with a score off a Mehmed Letifov feed.Cory Geiser scored unassisted for the 3-1 lead, only to see Pen Argyl's Eric Lobb connect on a penalty kick to keep it close. Macerno added a late unassisted score to round out the contest for the win.The Green Knights' Matt Rodas stopped 17 shots on goal, while counterpart Phillip Struble had 14 saves in the goal for the winners.Catasauqua-LehightonLehighton managed a 3-1 non-league win over Catasauqua, after receiving a late challenge from the Rough Riders.Zeka Elkhyati put the Indians on the board first off a feed from Frank Bokan, before Bokan added an unassisted tally moments later for the brief lead.Jon Dweck countered with a Catty score to keep it close, before Lehighton's Luke Blisard put it out of reach off an assist from Bokan for the final score.Logan Motz managed a save for the Indians.No. Lehigh-PalmertonPalmerton recorded two first-half goals to take the early lead, before holding off the Bulldogs for the 2-1 Colonial League victory.Connor Russo and Jesse DeKorte both scored goals for the Bombers, while Rio Kapur assisted on one of them.Meanwhile, Tony Evangelist booted a penalty kick for the 'Dawgs to keep things close late.Nick Miller stopped 13 shots on goal for the Bulldogs, while Ryan Yacone had six saves for the Bombers.Palmerton held a 15-7 edge in shots.CROSS COUNTRYLehighton at Northampton InvitationalLehighton participated in the Northampton Cross Country Invitational at Bicentennial Park over the weekend, as part of the 24-team field.Senior Cera Gaston was the top Indian finisher in 14th place with a time of 19:48.66, while Michael Blacketter (41st) was the top male Tribe runner, with a time of 17:28.63.The field was bested overall in the boys' race by Central Bucks East sophomore David Endres (15:49.27), while Holy Cross High School junior Lexi Walsh won the girls' race in 18:33.23.The Tribe girls finished in 14th place as a team, while the boys came in 15th.GIRLS TENNISPottsville-TamaquaPottsville proved to be too much for Tamaqua, as they defeated the Lady Raiders 4-1.Tamaqua's Brooke Williams managed a straight-set win at number two singles, prevailing 6-1, 7-5.SINGLESMichala Zembas (P) def. Keyla Saez 6-3, 6-4; Brooke Williams (T) def. Emma Wiscount 6-1, 7-5; Briana Strickland (P) def. Carmen Gonzales 6-0, 6-0.DOUBLESRachael Conville/Julie Conville (P) def. Samantha Farley/Allison Miller 6-1, 6-0; Kiersten Conville/Gillian Revenis (P) def. Adiah Balliet/Alexis Brainer 6-1, 6-0.GIRLS SOCCERLehighton-Pen ArgylPen Argyl's Katie Depalma scored the game-winning goal late in the contest to give her team a 3-2 win over Lehighton.Brooke Labarre scored twice early on to give the Green Knights the early lead.However, the Tribe's Morgan Yurasits tallied once and was followed by Raja Quinones' game-tying score off an assist from Jada Whiteman.In the contest, the Green Knights' Jess Miller had 10 saves in net for the victory, while counterpart Julia Frey stopped 13 for the Lady Indians.Pen Argyl outshot Lehighton 16-13.Jim Thorpe-Sch. HavenSchuylkill Haven scored four goals in the second half to claim a 5-1 non-league victory over Jim Thorpe.Eve Morris found the back of the net for the Lady Olympians.Wilson-TamaquaTamaqua began its season with a convincing 7-1 non-league win over Wilson.For the Lady Raiders, Kayla Holland and Emma Kuczynski both scored two goals to provide their team with some punch. Meanwhile, Jamie Zuber and Kayla Sherry both had a goal and an assist, with Katelynn Rudy scoring a goal as well.Tamaqua, which outshot the Lady Warriors 45-7 in the game, received four saves from Alexa Hromyak in the net.No. Lehigh-PalmertonPalmerton raced out to an early lead and held off Northern Lehigh for the 4-2 Colonial League win.Jenna Blynn led the way for the Bombers with two goals and an assist, while Johanna Matsko added a goal and an assist. Kennedy Malsch tallied the remaining score for Palmerton, while teammate Kyla Brown stopped eight shots on goal.VOLLEYBALLLehighton, Tamaqua at Pine Grove InvitationalTamaqua and Lehighton both took part in the Pine Grove Volleyball Invite and had strong showings.The Lady Indians went 5-4 in pool play, topping Pine Grove 3-0 and Schuylkill Haven 2-1, but lost 3-0 to Nativity. Lehighton defeated Tamaqua in the quarterfinals, before falling to Blue Mountain in the semifinals.Katie Higgins tallied 51 digs, 42 kills and 12 aces while also recording her 500th career point for the Lady Indians. Emily Haberman had 53 assists and two aces.The Blue Raiders finished the pool play portion of the tournament with a 3-6 record, earning third place in their division. Against Northern Lebanon, they lost 19-25, 25-20, and 19-25. With TriValley, they won 25-21, 24-26, 25-21, and against Blue Mountain, dropped all three 14-25, 11-25, 12-25.In the quarterfinals, Lehighton put an end to their run, 25-16.Individually, for the Lady Raiders, Andrea Iacoviello had 22 digs, Mackenzie McVicker had nine kills and three blocks, while teammate Carly Kosciolek had 14 digs and 10 kills.Weatherly-Panther ValleyPanther Valley swept Weatherly 25-7, 25-10, 25-8 in a non-league match.Rachelle Filer led the Lady Panthers with nine kills and five blocks, while also tallying nine service points, including two aces. Chloe Markovich had 16 service points, including three aces and five kills. Christina Dacey recorded seven kills, eight assists and two aces. Sydney Clouser had 16 digs and Danielle Hudicka had four kills and 16 assists.Panther Valley also won the JV match, 2-0.