That factor may in fact be what distinguished your local boy from the pack of other exceptional candidates. Not taking anything away from him whom I’m certain had a very strong application but schools do consider geographic diversity too.
Remember – there will always be a story or two of the student who got into every school to which they applied and the student who got in nowhere. Neither of these students probably deserved those outcomes. But auditions are subjective. Reviewing admissions applications is subjective. There is really no good way to predict where you will be accepted. Sometimes mistakes are made. They can be made against you or sometimes in your favor. Do not let other people’s results define how you feel about yourself and your chances for admission. Choose schools that make sense for you.
Just remember to keep a realistic perspective of this whole process. You may have all the right statistics, training, resume etc… and still not get in some schools. And you may get in a school that you thought was impossible for you to achieve. Control what you can. Be prepared and do your best.