The father and son have a saying they often repeat to each other.

You're either a hero or a zero.

Not terribly original. But for Matt Baker and his son, Brandon, the adage holds meaning. They are quarterbacks, after all, and they understand the nature of their position. The line between honor and ignominy can be razor thin.

"They either love you or they hate you," said Matt Baker, 41, Central York's offensive coordinator, who was a star quarterback at the school in the '80s before playing collegiately at Temple. "Unfortunately, that's the name of the position."

Baker nodded toward his son, standing a few feet away.

"He understands that now."

Brandon Baker's sophomore season has been a crash course in the capricious nature of the quarterback position. He has started all 11 games this season, and will lead the seventh-seeded Panthers (8-3) into their District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinal contest tonight at 7 on the road against No. 2 Wilson (10-1).

In the last three months, Baker has heard his talent and his capabilities questioned. Heard those who said he was only starting because of who his father was.

Baker has also persevered, entrenching himself at QB and repaying his coaches' faith. The fresh-faced 15-year-old has flashed a big-time arm, posting a career-best 234-yard, three-touchdown passing performance Week 10 against William Penn.

"It feels different now," Brandon Baker said. "I feel more experienced with the offense, how

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to throw the routes and the timing."

Of course, it helps having your father around to help.

The father-son, player-coach dynamic can be hard to navigate, but the Bakers have managed it deftly. They try to keep football and family life separate, although inevitably the line blurs.

After a practice this week, the Bakers sat in the basement and popped on some game film.

It doesn't take long to see the tacit bond between them.

"I'm almost envious of it," Panthers coach Brad Livingston joked. "I've coached my own sons, and it didn't go quite that well."

That doesn't mean the coach is afraid to critique.

"My first job when I step on this field is to coach," Matt Baker said. "I'm hard on him. That's the position it is."

The son understands. He was bred into this. Brandon Baker remembers going to Temple games as a kid and tossing the football around on the Veterans Stadium turf.

This summer, Baker beat out senior Zach Sprenkle to win Central's starting quarterback job. When the Panthers started 0-2 -- scoring one touchdown in those games -- the reaction was predictable.

"The first couple weeks, a lot of people said the only reason I'm starting is because my dad's the coach," Brandon Baker said. "After (a Week 2 loss to Lower Dauphin) I caught a lot of heat from a lot of people."

At which point, the comforting presence of his father helped.

"(He said) 'Hold your head up high and keep working,'" Brandon Baker recalled.

The sophomore did, helping lead Central to eight wins in nine games.

Baker isn't the focal point of the Panthers offense -- that's 1,700-yard tailback Charles Anderson -- but he doesn't have to be.

Instead, his job is to be efficient. He's completed 54.1 percent of his passes for 1,059 yards and more touchdowns (10) than interceptions (9).

Each game, he provides more evidence he belongs. Last week, Baker lofted a pinpoint 44-yard score to Justin Burke to ice a 28-10 playoff win against Dallastown.

He's not a polished product yet, but he's getting closer.

"Every now and then I'll see him make a throw I didn't know he could make," Livingston said. "Every now and then I'll see him make a read I didn't know."

"He's going to do a lot better than I did," Matt Baker said. "I can guarantee that."

Brandon Baker has set the bar high for himself -- he hopes to play college football, like his father.

Then again, the bar couldn't be much higher than it already is.

"There is a pressure there, not just from that school but from that community," Matt Baker said. "People expect that he's got that name. And in all honesty, that's unfair. He's his own individual.

"But in the same breath, he knows it's a pressure position. He knows the expectations."

You're either a hero or a zero.

Lately, Brandon Baker has looked more like the former than the latter.
John Clayton is a prep sports reporter for the Daily Record/Sunday News. Reach him at 771-2045 or jclayton@ydr.com.