Portland Thunder Darron Thomas

Former Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas (left) or Nathan Enderle, of Idaho, will be the starter for Portland Thunder when the season opens Monday, March 17 at the Moda Center.

(Photo by Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

Professional football in Portland is just a week away.

The

of the Arena Football League announced their final 24-man roster Monday in advance of the March 17 season opener against the San Jose SaberCats at the Moda Center.

Along with Thomas, other players with local ties to make the final roster include former

wide receiver Justin Monahan and offensive lineman Kyle Ritt; and defensive backs Patrick Stoudamire, who played high school football at Centennial in Gresham, and Bryce Peila from Western Oregon.

Linebacker Brandon Tett out of Oregon, and offensive lineman Brandon Lockheart from

, invited to Thunder camp via the open tryout, were placed on injured reserve to begin the season after impressing the coaching staff in training camp.

With the roster set, Sauk said the next week of practice will mostly be about "cleaning up" and learning some of the rules and intricacies of AFL they were unable to cover during training camp. But come a week from now, the first-year head coach and two-time AFL Assistant Coach of the Year said fans will see a young, exciting team that will play right on the edge.

"You're gonna see fast action, you're gonna see nonstop — not only is it in the football itself, but it's in the crowd, it's on the field. It's two hours and 30 minutes of music, cheerleaders, football, activities for the kids. It's just nonstop action and it's exciting."

Added Thomas: "Everybody's just excited for the opportunity to get back on the field. It's been a year removed for me since I've been on the field, so I'm excited. Got a little jitters but I can't wait."

-- Sean Meagher

The 2014 opening Thunder roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. College

1 Darron Thomas QB 6-3 215 Oregon

2 Eric Crocker DB 6-2 195 Arkansas-Monticello

4 Duane Brooks WR 5-10 185 Stephen F. Austin

6 Jeffrey Solomon WR 6-0 200 Washington State

8 Douglas McNeil III WR 6-3 200 Bowie St. (MD)

9 TJ Fatinikun LB 6-1 251 Toledo

10 Nathan Enderle QB 6-4 218 Idaho

11 Donte Paige-Moss DL 6-3 273 North Carolina

13 Justin Monahan WR 6-1 202 Portland State

14 Michael Braunstein K 5-7 192 Washington/Ohio

17 Samora Goodson WR 6-3 210 SE Missouri State

20 Bryce Peila DB 5-11 205 Western Oregon

21 Dwight McLean DB 6-1 205 Purdue

23 Patrick Stoudamire DB 5-11 210 Western Illinois

24 Varmah Sonie DB 5-8 175 Northern Iowa

30 Antron Dillon DL 6-5 270 North Alabama

44 Ayo Idowu DL 6-3 261 St. Thomas (Minn.)

48 KC Obi DL 6-2 250 North Texas

50 Jeraill McCuller OL 6-7 350 South Carolina State

70 Kyle Ritt OL 6-3 290 Portland State

71 Aderious Simmons OL 6-7 305 Arizona State

73 Davon Allen OL 6-1350 Rice

74 Max Jean-Gilles OL 6-4 340 Georgia

94 Jake McDonough DL 6-5 305 Iowa State

Injured Reserve

32 Brandon Tett LB 6-1 260 Oregon

64 Brandon Lockheart OL 6-7 315 Oregon State