“Where all the children ate above average.”
Test scores are one equalizer across high schools. And you will see that the students who get some great acceptances aren’t always tops academically; sometimes they are the student who did something off the beaten path (and well) in ECs.
I think it is crass to try to leverage a family friend for admissions (and I speak as someone who could have tried that path, but didn’t). It might earn you a courtesy waitlist, but won’t overcome deficiencies in your app.