Former Wilson quarterback, Reading lineman highlight Berks Hall of Fame class

Former Wilson quarterback Kerry Collins is expected to make a rare appearance in Berks County later this month when he’s inducted into the Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame as one of nine members of the Class of 2025.

The 48^th annual banquet will take place April 27 at FirstEnergy Stadium, in the Redner’s Events Center.

The class includes the late John Jankans, a Reading High grad who played in the Canadian Football League, along with Brian Menet, Travis Berger, Bernie Driscoll, Jim Fehling, Rachel Hoffman, Scott Hunsicker, and Rudy Ruth.

Also set for induction: The 1985 Central Catholic boys basketball team, which won the PIAA Class A championship, and the 1994 Wilson girls swimming team, which won the PIAA Class 3A title. They will be honored as Teams of Distinction.

Hamburg graduate Karlie (Heistand) Kisha, who played in the 2024 Olympics on the U.S. women’s field hockey team, will receive the chapter’s Inspiration Award.

Collins led the Bulldogs to a program-record 14 wins and their only appearance in the PIAA football championship game as a senior in 1989.

He went on to play at Penn State and for 17 seasons in the NFL, throwing for over 40,000 yards as a pro.

He was a two-year starter at Penn State, in 1993 and 1994, leading the Nittany Lions to a 19-2 record and wins in the Citrus Bowl and Rose Bowl.

As a senior he was Big Ten Player of the Year, won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best player and the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback after leading Penn State to a 12-0 record. He set school records for completion percentage (.667) and pass efficiency (172.96).

Collins was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

He was the first draft pick of the expansion Carolina Panthers, who drafted him fifth overall in 1995, and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Indianapolis Colts.

He led the Panthers to the NFC title game in the 1996 season and the Giants to the Super Bowl in 2000. He was a two-time Pro Bowl pick.

Collins was a three-sport standout at Wilson, where he was an All-State pick in football, a second-team All-Berks pick basketball, and an All-Berks  pitcher in baseball; he led the Bulldogs to a District 3 Class 3A baseball title and the PIAA championship game.

He was selected twice in the Major League Baseball draft, by the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers.

Here are bios of the other inductees:

Travis Berger

Berger was an outstanding soccer player at Wilson, leading the Bulldogs to the 1992 PIAA Class 3A championship, the 1991 District 3 3A title, and back-to-back Berks League championships.

He received All-Berks, All-State, and All-American honors and was the Berks Player of the Year as a senior. He recorded 61 career goals and 54 assists.

At Penn State he was a four-year starter and helped the Nittany Lions win their first Big Ten championship. He led the Big Ten with 15 goals in 1995 and received All-Big Ten and Academic All-American honors. He still ranks in the top 10 at Penn State for points in a season (35 in 1995).

Berger coached Alvernia’s men’s soccer team from 2002-07.

Bernie Driscoll

Driscoll is the winningest men’s basketball coach in Kutztown University history with 362 wins victories 2000, which ranks fourth in PSAC East history and 10th in league history.

He has won six PSAC East championships, four PSAC title games, reached four NCAA Division II Tournaments and two NCAA Atlantic Region finals. He is a four-time PSAC East Coach of the Year.

Driscoll was an assistant coach at West Chester University for 13 seasons and graduated from Dickinson College, where he played football and basketball and still holds several Dickinson receiving records.

Jim Fehling

Fehling was the first Wilson football player named first-team All-State, was selected for the Big 33 Football Classic and has been named to the Berks County Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The 1972 grad was a three-sport athlete, earned nine letters, and was named Wilson’s Outstanding Male Athlete. He received a scholarship to play at Duke, where he was a starting offensive lineman for three seasons.

Fehling was a sectional wrestling champ at Wilson and qualified for the PIAA championships in the discus.

Rachel Hoffman

Hoffman was a standout in soccer, basketball, and field hockey at Wyomissing and has led the Spartans to four Berks and four District 3 Class 2A soccer championships as a head coach.

In soccer, she a four-time All-Berks and All-State pick, an All-American and the Pennsylvania Player of the Year as a senior. She led the county in scoring four times and finished her career with 142 goals and 82 assists.

In basketball she was a four-year starter, a three-time captain and a three-time All-Berks pick who averaged 19.8 points per game in her career and scored 1,886 points, still a school record.

In field hockey she was a three-year starter who finished her career with 30 goals and 15 assists.

She played soccer at Penn State, where she was a four-time MVP and made the All-Big Ten first team and the Mid-Atlantic Region first team all four seasons.

Hoffman played professionally with the New York Power in the Women’s United Soccer League.

Scott Hunsicker

Hunsicker has worked with the Reading Phillies and Reading Fightin Phils since 1998, twice earning Eastern League General Manager of the Year, in 2007 and 2012.

Hunsicker previously served as the team’s assistant general manager, director of group sales and tickets, director of sales and marketing, and intern.

He graduated in 1988 from Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, where he played baseball and football and went on to play football and baseball at Albright. He was named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference first team in baseball.

Hunsicker is the vice president of Baseballtown Charities, and serves on the board of directors for Visit Pennsylvania’s Americana Region, and the Van Reed Youth Athletic Association.

John Jankans

Jankans blocked for Lenny Moore at Reading High and went on to a standout career at Arizona State and in the Canadian Football League for the British Columbia Lions.

The 1952 grad was a standout lineman who helped the Red Knights to a 21-8-1 record in his three seasons as a starting tackle. He was a team co-captain as a senior and was voted the best senior athlete by his classmates.

Jankans was the first Arizona State player to earn first-team all-conference honors four times, was named one of the 54 best football players in the program’s history and is considered the greatest two-way lineman in program history.

He was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame in 1981.

Brian Menet

Menet was an All-Berks pick in football, basketball, and volleyball at Central Catholic and led the Cardinals to their first PIAA basketball championship, in 1985.

He was a three-year starter in football, helping lead the Cardinals to a 12-1 record and the District 3 Class 1A title in 1983.

In basketball he was a three-year starter was named the Berks Player of the Year as a senior after leading Central to a 27-2 record.

He went on to play basketball at Franklin & Marshall, where he was a four-year starter, the ECAC Rookie of the Year in 1986, and an ECAC Division III South All-Star first-team pick in 1989. He helped lead the Diplomats to four appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, including two Sweet 16 berths and one Elite Eight berth.

He scored 1,021 career points and still ranks in the Top 10 in field goal percentage, rebounds, assists and steals.

Rudy Ruth

Ruth coached Wilson to nine state championships and four Eastern U.S. title teams in water polo and was named the 2010 national high school Coach of the Year.

Ruth coached 35 All-Americans, founded the Pennsylvania State Water Polo Association, and served as state commissioner for more than 40 years. He also founded the Beast of the East tournament, the largest water polo tournament outside California.

Ruth is a 1978 graduate of Methacton High School and a 1982 graduate of West Chester State College, where he participated in water polo, swimming, boxing, and lacrosse.

He went on to become a teacher and administrator at Wilson, where he coached age group and varsity swimming for six years, junior high and varsity wrestling for 10 years, and water polo for more than 30 years.