I have to respectfully disagree, otherwise the AO job would be easy peasy. I agree that ECs are over-rated, but I think that LoRs are carefully read by AOs, especially if they have previous experience at the HS.
DS had okay grades and great scores, but so do thousands of kids who are not accepted. There’s no way to prove it, but I am convinced that he was accepted based on his LoRs, including the one from the GC. His essays were probably a factor, but the opinions of professionals who had watched him for four years, IMO, weighed heavily in his favor.